The Pygmalion Project
by displacedtexan
Summary: Tomboy Kotoko naps through Tonan High School entrance program and only meets Naoki after the earthquake two years later. Their relationship begins at that point. FOLLOWUP STORY: Galatea at College.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: In no way, shape, or form is Itazura na Kiss mine. (Well, except for the volumes that I've purchased. Hurry up with the last two, DMP!)**

* * *

Aihara Kotoko was not a naturally feminine person. Due to her mother's untimely demise, she was left with a father who was ill-acquainted with ruffles, bows and furbelows.

Believing that there was safety in numbers, Kotoko, along with other children of employees, was given into the care of the mother of the owner of the restaurant where her father worked. As that person had hidden well an over-affection for sake, this meant that oftentimes the children were left to their own devices. Being the sole girl in the group, consequently Kotoko was raised with a thorough knowledge of ball sports, a liking for shounen manga, and a passion for violent video games.

Even in middle school, after outgrowing the need for an after-school caretaker, she could still be found with her early friends, terrorizing imaginary demons in city parks and clambering on playground equipment like a monkey. She was no stranger to scrapes and bruises, and her injuries included four black eyes, seventeen stitches and innumerable scrapes and bruises, although no broken bones. Her uniforms were covered in ill-repaired rips and often her hair appeared uncombed. Once she even plucked a caterpillar out of it (acquired during an unauthorized tree ascension) and, accompanied by screams from her female classmates, gently set it outside the classroom window. While those young ladies were experimenting with makeup and flirtation, Kotoko continued her rough-and-tumble tomboy ways with no embarrassment. It just seemed…natural…to her.

Her father, despairing of his daughter ever gaining ladylike ways, encouraged her to test for a high school away from her rowdy acquaintances. Using the excuse that this school would be more convenient for her to reach his recently opened restaurant after class, she acquiesced. Aihara Shigeo made many trips to the shrine and purchased several charms for academic success. Although her father's prayers and the cloth charms pinned to her backpack didn't hurt her chances, the real reason that Kotoko took the exam seriously was the result of something else. It was the first time that her father had made a serious request of her, addressing her as an equal. It wasn't that she was stupid, per se, just that the crowd she had run around with had more interest in physical than intellectual activity. Whatever the reason, she made the cut-off for Tonan High School—barely—and with a mixture of trepidation and excitement prepared for a new adventure.

Old habits die hard, however, and the night before the opening ceremony she was tagged in a multiple text for a last round of video games before cracking the books. Therefore, having stayed up until four a.m. battling Nazi zombies, the first morning of high school found her at her most lethargic. She recognized no one as she entered the campus, so she took an aisle chair in the freshman section and endured multiple 'pardon me's as fellow students walked in front of her, tripped over her extended legs, and glared at her for blocking the path. With the spring day being unseasonably warm, the building un-air conditioned, and the initial speakers droning on in monotones, her head was nodding to the side by the time the top student of the incoming class stood up to give the welcoming speech.

* * *

Irie Naoki had never needed much supervision. A serious child, he always viewed the world distantly and objectively. After an early trauma (which still occasionally revisited him in nightmares), he never wasted his time or efforts in dealing with persons whom he deemed inferior in intellect. Of course, family was the exception to that, although at times he wished that he was half as successful at tuning out his mother as she believed he was.

So, when he did speak, whether it was in class or in an assembly, he expected to be listened to. As he sat on the platform awaiting his turn at the podium for the Tonan High School entrance ceremony, he noticed a person sitting in the freshman section. Her head, adorned with two stubby pigtails, one of which was distinctly two centimeters lower than the other, was nodding in a reverse Fibonacci sequence. By his calculations, she would be sound asleep before the end of the program.

He rose when it was his turn and gave his speech, not once referring to the paper in front of him. His mind compartmentalized itself so that he was able to recite the compilation of ancient platitudes and proverbs disguised as an intellectual pep talk while monitoring the condition of the student. He noticed that she sat splay-legged, with her feet in front of her like a boy, and that she was slowly listing to her right, towards the aisle. As his mind calculated the physics needed to project her tipping point, he felt irritation from the student's lack of attentiveness to the proceedings. This, an emotion he usually only encountered with his mother—who, good Lord, was standing at the back with the video camera—grew to the extent that when he descended from the stage at the end of his speech, he proceeded down the aisle in the opposite direction of the seat that his friend Watanabe had saved for him.

As he neared the slumbering student (were those gym shorts peeking from under her skirt?), he deviated from his path in the exact center of the aisle and aimed a sideways kick to jar her chair. The disdainful sneer that graced his face as he performed that maneuver became an outright laugh when she jerked awake, shouting, "Die, you bastards!" into the echoes of fading applause for his speech.

Many a female student (and a few males) fell in love with him upon seeing his face lightened so in laughter, but over the next two years they despaired of ever seeing it that way again. He was the cool, even cold, Irie Naoki, confident in his intellect, disdainful of those who lacked the intelligence to share a classroom with him. The only expression that ever crossed his face was a haughty sneer or absolute boredom.

On the other hand, Aihara Kotoko made quite an impression on her fellow students, especially those who shared the Class F classroom with her. Scolded by the teachers and teased by the students for her abrupt ejaculation (in her dream, she had been swarmed by zombies and was down to her last ammunition clip), she found herself the center of attention among the females because of the attention paid her by the 'genius dreamboat'. Once she admitted to having no memory of even seeing Naoki, most of them lost interest.

Two of them stayed at her side; Satomi and Jinko thought that Kotoko was a pretty fun person, and she became great friends with the two girls who had attended middle school together. Upon visiting her apartment, Satomi was aghast at the contents of her closet, and together she and Jinko decided to feminize the tomboy. Over a period of months Kotoko began to accumulate more clothes and shoes that she had ever thought she needed and learned how to arrange her hair in a different style for each day of the week.

* * *

And so the first two years of her high school career passed. Happy with new friends and a new school, she was pretty much unaware of and undisturbed by the presence of Naoki. She might have been able to match his face with his name if she bothered herself, but she really didn't care to. She was content to remain within her circle of comfort.

However, the day after the level 2 earthquake leveled her new house was when Irie Naoki was forcibly inserted into her daily life.


	2. Chapter 2

Kotoko's two friends met her several blocks from the school. Having been present for the spectacular collapse of her home the night before, they lost no time in asking how the rest of her evening went.

"An old friend of Otosan called him last night," Kotoko informed them. "It looks like we'll be moving in with his family for a few months."

"Really? Do you know where they live?" asked Satomi.

"No, I was asleep at the time," Kotoko admitted. "But it's his best friend from way back in junior high. We're supposed to drive over tonight after we make one last search through the rubble for any surviving items."

"Hey, what's that racket?" Jinko turned her head toward the steps in the school courtyard. "Oh no, it's that idiot Kin-chan!"

"Ah, what's he up to now?" Kotoko remarked absently, in the process of turning her phone ringer off in preparation for the school day.

Ikezawa Kinnosuke was a perpetual irritant in her life. Her eccentric high school debut had caught his eye, and he had attached himself to her from the very first day of high school. Assuming that their love was mutual, he incessantly butted into conversations with her friends and loudly asked her on dates. Undeterred by her constant rejection, the canny Kansai native noticed that she would attend group activities; he then began to include Satomi and Jinko in his invitations. Eventually those two determined that Kinnosuke and his equally doltish posse had formed a hedge around their female trio and thus were impeding relationships of all of them with other young men. Not that Kotoko was concerned, but Satomi, with her air of fashion, really felt the bite of the restrictions. Therefore the trio had begun to back away from the pushy youth, who remained oblivious to their lack of interest.

"Oh no!" Kotoko was now close enough to see that a large banner was being held aloft by Kinnosuke's partners in crime. On it was written (in misspelled kanji) 'Donations for Poor Homeless Kotoko'. Kinnosuke himself stood between them, blocking the walkway, with a large box hung from his neck for the proffered cash and was announcing himself via megaphone.

"Oi, Jinko, we'd better catch up to her!" Satomi grabbed her friend's hand and chased after Kotoko, who had almost reached the steps.

"You baka-head!" Kotoko's bag flew in a horizontal arc and slammed into Kinnosuke's ribs. "Who asked you to do this?"

"Only my heart full of love for you!" The youth leaned down toward her, lips pursed as if for a kiss, hand over the aforementioned organ. "Ow!"

Kotoko had flicked him on the forehead and now was kicking his shins, trying to propel him to the side of the school entrance. "My family is not in such dire straits as to need this—!" Breath whooshed out of her lungs as Kinnosuke, timing himself between her blows, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tightly to his side.

"And here she is!" he hollered into the megaphone. "This poor girl, her only possessions the clothes on her back, is in need of your heartfelt offerings so that she will not be shamed in life."

Kotoko's cheeks flushed as she struggled. "The only one shaming me is you, dolt! I have never been more embarrassed!"

"It's not really good form to exploit someone's misfortune for monetary gain," a voice drawled.

Distracted from the skirmish, Kotoko faced the two students standing before her and her captor. Unsure who had spoken she looked back and forth between them. One had slightly mussed hair and regarded Kinnosuke with icy hauteur. The other, wearing glasses and sporting an unruly set of curls, smiled sympathetically at her. As she returned his smile, the first one opened his mouth and she knew exactly who the leader was between the pair.

"It appears that the young lady is an unwilling participant, wouldn't you say, Watanabe?" The one with the stuck-up attitude focused on her face. His eyes widened as he inhaled suddenly, then a slow smirk curved his lips.

His gaze shot back to Kinnosuke when the other countered, "And what's it to you, Irie? You and your Class A nerds can well afford to put a little of your pocket money in the box. You won't miss it and it will make a world of difference to Kotoko!" He waved the megaphone at them in a threatening manner.

Kotoko's brows came together. "I'm going to put a world of _hurt_ on you, Kin-chan!" She finally jerked free and stomped on his foot viciously. As he hopped around in agony, she bowed to the duo. "My apologies for this—idiot—delaying your progress. Thank you for drawing his fire long enough for me to begin his punishment," she glared at the hapless youth, "and please ignore him. This," she waved her hand at the banner, now drooping as Kinnosuke's pals were trying to assist their leader, "was none of my doing."

"I believe you have made that perfectly clear," the one who had been addressed as Watanabe answered. "Don't you think so, Irie?"

"Absolutely." The other young man's eyes were glued to Kotoko's face. She was beginning to wonder if there was dirt on her nose.

"Excuse me?" Kotoko addressed him. "Do we know each other?"

Naoki laughed. "We've had an… encounter, shall we say?" He reached out a hand and patted her on the head. "I think you'll be just fine, Aihara Kotoko. But I'll call Mom and tell her to double up the pillowcases."

Kotoko raised an eyebrow. "I—don't get it?" Her voice rose in a confused question.

He leaned close to her ear. "You drool when you sleep, did you know that?"

When Kotoko's hand instinctively flew to her mouth he laughed out loud and walked away with his friend.

Satomi and Jinko rushed up to her. "Kotoko!"

"What did you say to Irie-kun?"

"Irie-kun?" Kotoko looked after his tall figure and pointed. " _That's_ the Class A genius?"

"Yes! He never smiles, much less laughs." Jinko shook her arm. "How did _you_ do it—and for the second time?!"

"I don't know." Kotoko rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess…I drool?"


	3. Chapter 3

"It sure was nice of your pal to invite us to stay until the house is fixed," Kotoko said to her father as they drove to their new temporary home.

"Yes, Iri-chan and I go way back to our schooldays in Saga," Mr. Aihara replied. "He has done very well for himself here in Tokyo."

"You've done great yourself, Otosan!"

"But here you and I are—homeless!"

"You had no way of knowing that the earthquake was going to hit our house that hard," Kotoko assured him. "At least the restaurant wasn't damaged."

"Yes, but our home had just been finished!" he lamented. "Ah well, I'll get someone on it as soon as possible. Now, Kotoko," he said, changing subjects, "Iri-chan is married and has two sons, and one of them is around your age. You might even know him."

"Hmm. Not sure," she mused.

"Anyway, even though he's Iri-chan's son and you need to be polite to him, just be careful. You never know—the nicest-mannered young man can turn into a raging wolf!"

"Ha ha!" she laughed. "You have quite the imagination, Otosan!"

"And don't you go falling in love with him, either! It will be difficult enough without that complication!" The truck slowed. "Well, here we are." They peered at the entrance, illuminated by the headlights.

"Wow. Looks like a mansion!" Kotoko commented.

"Don't get spoiled here, daughter," he warned. "We'll be moving back before you know it!"

Just then the gate opened and a jolly looking middle-aged man emerged. "Ai-chan?" he called, shading his eyes from the brightness.

Mr. Aihara quickly turned off the lights. "Iri-chan! We made it!" He scrambled out of the cab and the two hugged each other.

Kotoko giggled at the sight of her tall gangly father in the arms of the shorter, rotund man. _If his son takes after him, I won't have to worry about falling in love. He'd make even Kin-chan look good!_ She frowned as she descended from the truck, recalling the embarrassing scene caused by Kinnosuke earlier that day.

"Oh, Kotoko! It's nice to meet you!" Mr. Irie bowed. "My wife was so excited about your arrival—now, where is she?" He turned around when a slender woman rushed outside.

"Papa, Papa! Are they here?" She stopped suddenly and slapped hands to her cheeks. "Oh, my, my! Kotoko-chan is here! Ai! You are adorable!"

Kotoko cringed away from the enthusiastic hug, sending her father a look desirous of rescue, which he failed to notice as he and Mr. Irie were in the process of emptying the back of the truck.

"Let her go before you suffocate her, Ma," a voice drawled somewhere behind Mrs. Irie.

"Oh!" Mrs. Irie released her abruptly. "My pardon, Kotoko-chan," she exclaimed. "I was just so excited to _finally_ have another female in this house!"

"Yes, yes, Mama has been anticipating your arrival since last night," Mr. Irie informed her as he and Mr. Aihara brought several cases to the sidewalk. "If you haven't guessed already, this is my wife, Irie Noriko." An arm reached around to take one of the suitcases from his hand. "Oh, and this is my son Naoki. I believe you two attend the same school—?"

"You!" Kotoko pointed at him. "That's why you mentioned pillowcases…" She unconsciously rubbed around a finger around her mouth.

"What?! Onii-chan, you know Kotoko-chan? And you didn't tell me?!" Mrs. Irie berated her son, who ignored her and began to carry a load of luggage through the gate. Thus relieved of Mrs. Irie's attention, Kotoko picked up some bags herself and followed.

Once the bags and boxes of Aihara possessions were deposited inside the house, it was not long before Mrs. Irie continued her line of questions, this time addressing Kotoko.

"So you and Onii-chan are friends?"

Kotoko looked confused. "Onii-ch—oh, Irie-kun. No, not really…"

"We're in different classes," Naoki informed her, "but we've had a couple of encounters."

"Couple?" Kotoko looked at him quizzically, but he only responded with a slight smirk. Not a good beginning, but she was willing to try… "Well, just to make the introduction official, my name is Aihara Kotoko and I'm glad to—"

"Daughter!" Mr. Aihara slapped down the hand she had extended to Naoki. "Don't act like one of your old hooligan friends! Bow! Bow!"

"Oh, yes!" Aided by her father's hand shoving her head down, Kotoko quickly bobbed a bow at Naoki and made deeper ones to his parents.

"We are most grateful for your hospitality." Her father also bowed. "Apologies for my neglectful daughter. She used to have only boys for friends and didn't act like a girl until high school. She still has some relapses."

"Oh, no worries!" chirped Mrs. Irie. "It will be such a delightful adventure to take Kotoko-chan in hand. We will have so much fun learning to enhance her femininity!"

While Mr. Aihara gave her a grateful look, Kotoko goggled at her in dismay. Naoki held a hand over his mouth as he snorted, and Kotoko turned at the sound of a slight echo. Seeing a shadow in the doorway, she leaned sideways to inspect it.

"Yuuki-kun!" Mrs. Irie scurried over and dragged a young boy into the room. "Why are you skulking in the hall, hiding like that? Now greet your new Onee-chan, Kotoko!"

Kotoko blinked. _Onee-chan…!_ That was moving pretty quickly, and if _she_ felt that way, imagine how Yuuki felt. "It's nice to meet you, Yuuki-kun." Her hand moved forward then dropped, and she made him a bow. "I hope we can get along."

He curled his lip and gave a sniff. "Seems I have little choice in the matter."

"Yuuki!" His mother's voice was shocked. "I taught you better manners than that!"

"He's still bent out of shape because he had to move in with me due to 'Kotoko-chan' taking over his room," Naoki informed her.

"Oh no!" Kotoko gasped. "I didn't know that we were going to put you out to this extent. Oh, please!" she turned to Mrs. Irie. "I will be happy with a futon on the floor of Otosan's room. Or even a blanket on the couch here!"

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Irie enfolded her in another hug, squeezing her so hard that her back bowed. "Your father's job hours are too different from a student's! And besides, ladies need their privacy!"

Eyes on the ceiling, Kotoko asked, "They do?"

"Kotoko-chan! You poor dear! I know that Aihara-san did the best he could, but nothing can replace a mother's guiding hand! And I, dear Kotoko-chan, am willing and able to take on that task!"

"Well, why don't you wait until tomorrow for that, Ma?" Naoki studied the bags and boxes. "Some of these I can guess who they belong to, but maybe your latest 'project' would like to settle into her room and organize her things before midnight."

"Yes, yes!" Mrs. Irie released Kotoko, who nodded her gratitude at Naoki. Acknowledging it with a brief motion of his own head, he picked up the bags that she indicated and led the way to his brother's former room.

He paused outside the door, turned and said softly, "Brace yourself."

His mother brushed past and opened it with a flourish. "Welcome to your new bedroom, Kotoko-chan!"

Eyes wide, Kotoko walked in slowly and turned around in awe. "Wow. It's very...spacious."

Bustling around the room, straightening the pillow shams, Mrs. Irie chattered on. "It was such a pleasure to redecorate this room! I ordered new furniture and bedding and curtains and pictures and rugs," she paused to catch her breath, "everything for same day delivery! And then I paid the delivery men extra to move Yuuki's stuff out and set everything up in here! I just had to make a few minuscule changes, add the feminine touch, and voila! It was done!"

"I appreciate all the hard work, Irie-sama," Kotoko bowed.

"No! No!" she expostulated. "Please, call me Okaasan!" She sighed, "I've always wanted a daughter to call me 'Mother'!"

Cringing a little, Kotoko apologized, "I, uh, don't feel comfortable doing that, Irie-sama. We don't really know each other that well…"

"Pooh!" Mrs. Irie flapped a hand. "I'm sure time will take care of that. But if you can't bring yourself to say that, then what shall you call me?"

"Um, how about…Obasama?" Kotoko asked hesitantly. "I think I could see you maybe as an aunt more than a mother."

"That will do for now!" Mrs. Irie accepted the substitute. "But I'm not giving up on 'Okaasan'! Sooner or later…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes focused on some future vision, unseen by the others in the room.

"Hey, Ma!" Naoki's voice interrupted her reverie. "You might want to make sure that Dad has got Aihara-san settled in okay."

"Yes, yes! Although men are used to roughing it more than us females…" As she scurried out, Kotoko sat on the bed, posture sagging.

"So," Naoki leaned against the door jamb, Yuuki peeking around his elbow, "what do you _really_ think of this room?"

She shot him a look from under lowered eyebrows. "Is she out of earshot?" Naoki nodded. "Well, it looks like someone vomited a few bottles of Pepto-Bismal all over the place!"

The two brothers laughed in unison, then clapped hands over their mouths, checking the hallway. Yuuki looked up at Naoki. "She's nailed it, Onii-chan!"

"But," she fisted her hands and set her jaw, "it was done with kindness and thoughtfulness and I must be grateful."

"I beg of you, don't mitigate your first description," Naoki pleaded. "That was classic—and on the nose!"

"Yuuki-kun!" she called. "What did your room look like before this," she waved her hand around, "redecoration?"

"Um, a bed—no canopy!" he scowled at the frills, "—a chest of drawers, and a desk." He looked around the area and sighed.

Kotoko narrowed her eyes. "I don't suppose you had those vases and doilies and stuffed animals," she shoved one farther away to make herself more comfortable, "and those Kamaragi dolls probably aren't yours, either."

"Kimekomi," Naoki corrected.

"Whatever," Kotoko waved her hand.

"As if!" Yuuki snorted. "Plus my rug wasn't that fuzzy furry thing either."

"Yeah." Kotoko looked down at the floor. "It's so fluffy that my feet will disappear in it." She hopped off the bed and proved the statement. As she wiggled her toes to make the fibers move, she stated, "I would have been happier with the way it was before. No matter what your mother tries, I don't believe I'll ever be girly enough to fit this room."

"Yuuki-kun!" Mrs. Irie called from the hall. "You're first in the bath tonight! Get a move on, since we have extra people in the house now!"

The younger boy emitted a groan and left the other two alone. "I'll leave you to unpack. See you tomorrow morning at breakfast." Naoki headed for the door.

"Sure thing, Irie-kun." Kotoko smiled as she responded.

"Uh, if we're just here among family, we can probably use first names, but not at school. It might…"

"Yeah," she agreed. "Since we're only temporarily family." She opened up a case and began shaking out her clothes.

"That's your reasoning?" he muttered, staring at her narrowly. "We can discuss the other rules on our way to school tomorrow."

"Rules?" She cocked her head. "Is this a game?" she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Naoki and Kotoko walked side-by-side to the train station. Mrs. Irie had stridently insisted that Naoki escort her and when Kotoko had looked at her quizzically, Naoki had shaken his head at her in silent warning.

"But wouldn't it be normal for us to walk together? Why was she—Obasama—making such a big deal out of it?" she asked, almost trotting to keep up with his longer stride. "And insisting that Yuuki-kun stay behind and travel on his own to school?"

"You don't know?" he asked, turning. He noticed that she was out of breath and moderated his pace. "She really, _really_ wants you to call her Okaasan."

"Huh?" She stared blankly at him. "I know I'm in Class F, but even I don't see the connection."

"She's match-making, Kotoko!" he said through gritted teeth.

Kotoko stopped dead in her tracks. "Are you freaking kidding me, Naoki-kun? She thinks that me," she pointed to herself, "and you," she pointed to Naoki, "should date?"

"Yep." He stared at her, grim-faced.

"But we just met!" she wailed. "This is so—so Meiji era!"

"Believe me, you will hear more than you want to know about Mother's intuition before too long," he added, resuming their walk. "Logic flies out the window when she gets a 'feeling'! She acts as if she is an oracle with a direct line to eternal truth. Speaking of which—" He stepped to the side of the path and opened his shoulder bag. "I suspected that she'd try something, but the first day—!"

"What is it?" Kotoko looked into his bag. "Hey, why is my lunch in your bag?"

"She's sneaky," Naoki informed her as they traded bentos.

"Well, I don't know why she chose me," Kotoko complained as they repacked their school bags. "I'm just the daughter of a restaurant owner! You—why, _you_ are the famous Irie-kun, teenage genius of Tonan High! I'm in Class F, far removed from being compatible with you."

He nodded. "Under normal circumstances, our paths wouldn't cross. Actually, that's the appearance I'd like to keep at school."

"Huh? You mean, not talk to you there?"

"Yes, to try and keep the fact that we're living together on the down-low. Not that it will stay that way forever, but I prefer a quiet school life and would like to keep it that way as long as possible."

"I see. If you're seen with a lowly Class F person, then your reputation may suffer."

Naoki's mouth twisted. "I wouldn't put it quite that way. It's just that our school loves to get all excited over new and interesting gossip, and two unrelated students living under the same roof would certainly be an explosive scoop."

"Hmm. And my class sure doesn't need any more reason to act crazy, with midterms coming up. I get your point. Secrecy it is!"

"Until the inevitable happens. So," he asked, relieved that she had agreed so easily, "how do you think you'll do at midterms?"

She shrugged. "I just hope to pass them so I don't have to do retakes."

"Just to _pass_? Your teacher should be encouraging you to excel!"

"Well, we _are_ Class F. I don't see why you're that surprised."

He shook his head. "Well, if you want to pass, I could probably give you some tips and hints."

"Even being from Class A? Aren't you super ahead of us?"

"Probably. If you can find what material you'll be tested on, I can pinpoint what's most likely to be on the test. We just shouldn't let Mom find out about it..."

"Sweet!" Kotoko danced in front of him, walking backwards as she raised a hand.

He looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"Raise your hand, Class A! Don't you know anything?" When he did so, she slapped it with hers. "High five!"

He stared at his palm. "I know what a high five is, but I also know that it's usually a 'guy' thing. What does it mean to girls?"

"Pffft!" She expressed her derision. "You need to stop thinking that I'm going to act like a 'girl'."

Naoki looked skeptically at her swaying short skirt. "I'll try. Let me rephrase. What did that 'not-to-be-associated-in-any-way-with-a-girl' high five mean?"

"That we're teammates now! Secret teammates, but hey!" As they approached the train station, Kotoko noted, "Now that I've moved, I can meet Satomi at the transfer station instead of the school stop. If I travel the rest of the way with her, that should help keep our living arrangements under wraps. Do you think you and I should ride in separate cars for the first leg?"

"I don't think it's that critical. Besides, I've heard there's been a rash of gropers on this line. Not they've bothered _me_ , but…"

"As long as I'm not squashed in so much that I can't move, anyone who tries something with me is going to come off the worst!" she declared.

He looked her up and down doubtfully. "But you're so…"

Kotoko glared at him. "I just got used to thinking that you weren't as stuffy as everyone says, so don't say anything that's going to get you in trouble."

"...Um, " Naoki gave up trying to come up with a word that wouldn't be upsetting, since she appeared to be sensitive about her height. "Please continue," he gestured.

"Remember last night when Otosan was talking about my old friends…?"

"The, uh, hooligans?"

"Yeah. Well, I learned to fight pretty young, not holding anything back."

"Sounds like it'd be interesting to watch, but I think I'll still stay with you and ward off any potential threats. We can separate in the station before we meet your friend."

* * *

Kotoko was deliberately vague when her classmates asked about her new living arrangements. "Yes, they're very nice. My dad is really excited about renewing his friendship with his old pal."

"Are they treating you all right, Kotoko?" Kinnosuke leaned over the back of the chair behind her. "I've heard about bad places where they pretty much turn poor innocent girls into household slaves."

"Stupid Kin-chan!" Jinko shoved him away and took his seat then began to rebraid Kotoko's hair. "What dramas have you been watching?"

"Yeah! Don't forget that her dad's living there too!" Satomi reminded him.

"B-b-but he's at work a lot. A whole lot of bad things can happen when he's away!" He squatted in the aisle next to Kotoko's desk. "You be sure and tell me if they try to use you as unpaid labor!"

Kotoko shuffled paper on her desk. "I don't think that's going to happen. Mrs. I—, uh, Obasama is really nice. But she keeps thinking that she's going to make a lady out of me. You know I'm not cut out for that nonsense!" she protested to Satomi and Jinko.

Satomi smacked her hand in rebuke. "And because you call it 'nonsense' is the exact reason you should pay attention to her!" she averred. "Goodness knows, Jinko and I have done our best, but you still have some rough edges."

Jinko shushed Kinnosuke when he began to protest Satomi's description of Kotoko. "It doesn't hurt to listen to her, Kotoko. And you already admitted that she was nice, didn't you?"

"Yes. She decorated a room just for me." Kotoko nodded for emphasis. "Even kicked her son out of it!"

Kinnosuke leapt to his feet. "You mean there are _men_ there!? That does it! You need to be protected from their lecherous desires!"

"No, no, Yuuki-kun is in, like, third grade. I don't think I have to worry that I'll be ravished in my sleep. Hey!" She raised her hand. "Sensei, what sections of the history book will be on the midterm?"

"Hmph!" Kinnosuke stood over her, arms akimbo, watching as she scribbled down the teacher's response. "I suppose I can relax on _that_ front. But what brought on this need to study?"

"Yeah, Kotoko!" Jinko tugged on her hair so that she had to tilt her head back. "Since when have you cared about grades?"

"Since I don't want to waste my free time doing retakes my last year of high school!" she retorted. She jerked her hair free and waved her arm. "Sensei! Is it going to be multiple choice or short answer?"

Satomi and Jinko put their heads together. "How's that supposed to help her?"

"Yeah! The last time we tried to study together, we didn't know enough about what we needed to study to learn anything!"

"Somethin' smells about this whole situation," mused Kinnosuke, leaning over to overhear their conversation. "I'm not gonna rest until I figure out what it is!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Let's see… so what is the formula for acceleration?" Naoki queried Kotoko on their walk the next morning.

"Um… that's initial velocity minus final velocity, divided by—"

"No, no, no! It's _final_ velocity minus initial velocity."

"Oh, that's right!"

"Jeez!" He laid his hand heavily on top of her head. "Concentrate, won't you?"

"But it's hard to answer math questions orally," Kotoko whined.

"Probably so for you, Class F," he agreed, "even though it's physics, not math."

"I recognize math when I see it," she muttered.

He ignored her comment. "I'll review you on it tonight at home. Now, on to Japanese history…"

* * *

That evening Kotoko sat cross-legged on her bed, rubbing her damp hair with a towel. As she sang the mnemonic for taxonomy order, "Do Koalas Prefer Chocolate Or Fruit, Generally Speaking?" she heard a knock on the door. Glancing at the clock she thought, _Naoki-kun is early. I thought he wasn't arriving until…_

"Kotoko-chan! Kotoko-chan! Are you decent? Can I come in?"

 _Yikes! It's Mrs. Irie!_ "Come in, Obasama!" she called.

Mrs. Irie backed into the room, balancing a tray. "When you told me that you were going to spend the evening in study, I said to myself, 'Why, I'm sure that Kotoko-chan could use some good food as brain fuel!'"

"Thank you, Obasama!" Kotoko attempted a bow from her seated position and almost tumbled over. "I really enjoy your cooking!"

"Besides," Mrs. Irie pouted, "I was hoping that we would be able to spend some 'girl time' together. Remember, I promised your father to make a lady out of you."

"With all due respect, I don't know if that's possible," she countered, trying to wiggle out of the plan, but Mrs. Irie was not to be deterred.

"Nonsense! We'll take it one step at a time! To begin with," she tapped a forefinger on her chin, "that is not an appropriate way for a young lady to sit."

Kotoko looked down at herself, clad in a tank top and knit shorts. "What do you mean?"

"On the knees, darling! On the knees!" Mrs. Irie grabbed her legs, ignoring Kotoko's squawk of protest, and disentangled them, rolling the girl on her side in the process. Once she was repositioned, the older woman beamed. "Isn't that much better?"

Turning her grimace into a smile, Kotoko stiffly answered, "If you say so."

"I know!" Mrs. Irie clapped her hands. "I have just the thing! Wait right here!"

"Ow!" Kotoko moaned after she left the room. "What have I got myself in for?" She quickly straightened when she heard Mrs. Irie's steps returning.

"Here you go!" A froth of pink fabric (and feathers?!) flew through the air and landed on Kotoko's shoulders. "It looks absolutely darling on you! Come on! Put it on over whatever that is that you're wearing!"

Obediently Kotoko slipped her arms through the sleeves. "You really shouldn't give me things, Obasama."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mrs. Irie covered her mouth with her hands. "Do you already have one like this?"

"No, no!" Kotoko waved her hands, the wide sleeves of the robe swaying with the movement. "It's not really my...style."

"Then you must change your style, Kotoko-chan!" Mrs. Irie's expression was stern. "You need to accent your femininity! How do you expect to find a husband acting like one of the boys?"

"Uh, I'm not really looking for one. Plus, how is this," she shoved up the pink slinky sleeves, "supposed to help me with it? No one's going to see me wear it."

"You never know," Mrs. Irie's tone turned coy. "You might just walk down the upstairs hall and meet the man of your dreams!"

Kotoko stared at her blankly. _Omigod, Naoki-kun was right! She **is** matchmaking._

"Now, I'm not saying that he's perfect," she continued, unaware of Kotoko's consternation, "but my older son is quite handsome. Takes after my side of the family, you know." She winked at Kotoko.

"But why me?" she asked weakly.

"Well, he has such a reserved disposition that he needs someone like you to liven him up. He spends all day at school with daughters of some of the finer families, yet none of them suit his finicky fancy. With a few feminine wiles I'm sure that you can win his cold heart!"

"But—"

"Here! I thought I'd have to convince you to take him on, so I brought some of my photo albums." She picked one up from the floor where she had placed them before tossing the pink monstrosity over Kotoko. Seating herself next to the girl, she opened the first one. "Let's see, this is when he entered high school."

"Oh, yeah, I was there that day too," Kotoko began.

"Didn't Onii-chan give such a wonderful welcoming speech?!" his mother enthused.

"I suppose," she answered slowly, her brow creasing as her eyebrows rose slightly in thought. "I was a little out of it that day."

"Well, you missed a magnificent oration, then!" the proud mother continued. "Of course, there _was_ that incident after he left the stage…"

"Incident?" she inquired, happy that the conversation had moved from her non-memory of the occasion.

"Yes." Mrs. Irie pursed her lips. "He's usually not clumsy, but somehow he bumped into a chair on the aisle and this girl began shouting at him. And using such language!"

"Ow." Kotoko had relaxed too soon. That sounded a whole lot like what people said that she had done at opening ceremony… "How about this other one, Obasama?" she asked briskly.

"Oh, that is my favorite album with Onii-chan." She set the first aside and handed the new one to Kotoko. "These are from his younger years. Back then he was a lot more outgoing than now, and even more adorable."

Obediently, Kotoko turned the pages. Photos of a laughing toddler filled the sheets, her hair in sparse pigtails or adorned by huge bows. "But where are the pictures of Naoki-kun?" she asked.

"Oh, that's him!" Mrs. Irie gazed lovingly at the book, running her hand over the images. "When I was pregnant, I was so sure I was having a girl that I only bought little girl clothes! What a disappointment when he was born with, uh, different plumbing."

Kotoko bent over and peered closely. Yes, she could see the resemblance, but… "Why didn't you return the clothes to the store?"

"It was impossible!" Mrs. Irie sighed. "I couldn't resist dressing him in one outfit, and when I saw how adorable he was, I just had to keep them all! He didn't object to it, at least not for several years."

 _Yeah,_ Kotoko agreed silently, _most babies don't care what they wear._ She cringed in sympathy at what must have happened when he realized that he should have been wearing short pants instead of dresses.

"I enjoy looking back at these pictures so much. But," she nudged Kotoko, "I'm hoping to fill another album with pictures of his adorable daughter someday. It may not be too far off!"

"R-really?" Kotoko smiled weakly. _For goodness's sake, he's only 17!_

"Now that's the end of your first lesson!" Mrs. Irie rose from the bed. "Wait!" She plucked a photo from the album and thrust it at Kotoko. "Keep this to inspire you! Remember! Sit like a lady and wear alluring clothes like that wrapper! Nighty-night!"

"Otosan," she muttered, "you didn't tell me that we were moving into the loony bin!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Sometimes I may be slow updating chapters in this story, as I want to be sure that there is a logical relationship progression between the main characters. But rest assured that I wouldn't have started uploading without the intention of completing it.**


	6. Chapter 6

A few minutes later Kotoko heard a light rap on the door. _What now?_ she wondered. "Come in!"

Naoki stuck his head through the door. "I saw Mom up here earlier and decided to wait. What did she—what in the hell are you wearing?!"

"Do you like it?" She smiled wanly and fluttered an arm at him. "It's the latest style designed to seduce you into giving Obasama a cute granddaughter."

His stifled laugh emerged as a snort. "I told you what she was up to, but I didn't think that she would try a direct assault so soon. Remember, I warned you."

"Yeah, right. And, by the way, thanks a lot for making fun of me!"

"What?" he queried, genuinely confused.

"I figured out the 'drool' joke when your mother talked about our opening ceremony!" She scowled as she saw a grin spreading across his face.

"Sorry, but I just couldn't resist." He held out a hand. "Pax?"

"Pack up? Leave? And go where?"

"No. Peace. I apologize." He gave her a brief bow.

"I guess I have to accept," she answered grudgingly. "After all, I owe _you_ an apology for sleeping through your speech two years ago. I suppose it was typically Irie-kun brilliant?" He shrugged in response, so she added, "Hey, do you mind helping me move my legs? They've fallen asleep in this 'ladylike' pose." After he performed that service, she cried, "Ouch! Pins and needles! But thank you!" She patted the bed next to her. "Won't you help eat this food that your mother brought? Her topic of conversation kind of destroyed my appetite, and it takes quite a bit to do that!"

"Sure," he acquiesced. He picked up a paper rectangle next to her to avoid sitting on it and felt his blood turn to ice when he realized what it was. "Where did you get this?!"

Recognizing it as the toddler photo that had been forced on her, she shook her head. "That's supposed to be my 'inspiration'. I know you told me that she was odd, but you never said your mother was totally 'cray-cray'."

His mind raced while his face remained wooden, and he asked, "What are you planning to do about it?" At her blank look, he added, "Now that you know my deepest, darkest secret."

"Huh?"

"Will you tell everyone at school so they can all laugh at me? Blackmail me into doing something for you?"

"What kind of friends do you have?" She aimed a kick at his shin and fell off the bed for her troubles. "What do you think I'd blackmail you into? You're already keeping me from retaking midterms—or at least trying to. And as for laughing at you…" Limping across to the desk, she dug a small battered photo album from the drawer and held it open in front of him. "See if you can pick _me_ out of that group."

Seated on a curb in front of a restaurant ("Shinshuu", according to the sign in the background) was a motley group of tough-looking youths, their torn clothing spattered with mud. He stared at each face intently, then pointed to one with short, spiky hair and a black eye. "This one?" he asked incredulously.

"You have sharp eyes," she complimented him. "So you see, we both have a cross-dressing past that we'd rather keep under wraps. I may not be a 'lady' according to your mother, but that's not something I'd like shown around the high school, now that I'm comfortable wearing skirts."

"Without gym shorts, even," he muttered. Before she could ask about that comment, he continued, "Not to minimize your concern, but my situation would be a lot more embarrassing if it got out."

"So?" she asked, finally taking off the pink wrap and carrying it, warily between thumb and forefinger, to the closet . "You'll just have to trust me then. After all, that's what _real_ friends do."

Naoki stood staring at her for several seconds. He shook himself when he realized that she had returned and was looking back at him with impatience. Handing the photo back to her, he said, "Okay, I'll do that. Why don't you keep this one in your album also?"

When she grinned back at him suddenly, he felt an unaccustomed warmth in his chest region. Before he could stop to analyze it, she picked up a dry-erase board and marker. "Now, on to physics!"

* * *

In the nights following, the two met in Kotoko's room after Mrs. Irie's nightly visits to "feminize" Kotoko. So far she had learned that she had held her teacup incorrectly for years and was physically unable to walk in heeled shoes. "I'd like the extra height, but not at the cost of a broken ankle!" she complained to her evening tutor.

The day midterms began, Naoki quizzed her not only on their morning walk but also during the train ride. As they stepped out, he asked, "Are you confident today?"

"Absolutely!" Kotoko grinned and gave a big thumbs up.

Each day of the midterms this scene was repeated, although Naoki thought it almost unnecessary as Kotoko appeared more jubilant each day. On the morning of the last day she reported that she had recognized questions and topics he had pointed out. She also told him that she felt relaxed at the conclusion of each exam, but others in her class felt the need to discuss the questions with the others. "And I know that they had the wrong answers, but I didn't know if I should say anything," she confided. "The test was already over, so what good would it do? Not that they would have believed me anyway, with my track record."

"Well, that'll change when they see your name posted on the results board," he teased.

"Oi!" She laughed, swatting him. "I know my limitations! Besides, that's more than you promised! I suppose you're going to be up there, though?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Yes, I always am."

"Really? Wow, are you nervous about your placement?"

"No. I'll be first, as usual."

"As usual?!"

"Don't you check the public roster after the tests?"

"Nope. 'Cause I know I won't be there. Wow, you really are the genius of Tonan! Here," she stroked the sleeve of his upper arm, "let's see if any of the smarts rub off on me!"

"Hey!" he countered by rotating his elbow on the top of her head. "Don't let the Class F brains rub off on me!"

They continued the byplay until the train braked at the station. They walked off together, forgetting their usual routine of several seconds of separation. A young lady waiting for a train two platforms away fixed her eyes on the pair. "Is that…?" Satomi blinked, but they had disappeared, and when Kotoko entered the car alone she decided that she must have been seeing things.

* * *

"Ah!" Kotoko closed her eyes as she stretched her arms over her head upon the completion of the last exam. The teacher had not yet picked up all the papers and the volume of the room had already reached 75 decibels.

"So, Kotoko," Satomi leaned over the aisle, "how do you think you did?"

Kotoko turned to answer and missed the quick glance sent her way by the teacher. "I think I did pretty good! I told you that I was going to study hard so I wouldn't have to do retakes."

"Kotoko!" Kinnosuke's exuberant greeting from behind forced her face into the desk.

"Get off me, baka!" she chided, reinforcing the order with a well-placed rear elbow jab.

"Yeah, Kin-chan!" Jinko commented. "She could sue you for sexual harassment!"

"It's not harassment," he argued. "It's lo-o-ove!" He ignored the "boo's" from the girls and added, "Let's all go out and celebrate the end of testing!"

Satomi rolled her eyes. "And we'll have another round of exams in just a few weeks. You only want to goof off, don't you, Kin-chan?"

He spread his arms wide. "With such excellent friends as these, who wouldn't? Now, c'mon!" he coaxed.

"All right, all right! But you're buying!" The girls acquiesced and gathered their belongings.

"Not too late," Kotoko warned as the group exited the school building. "I have to be back home in time for the evening meal."

"Say," Kinnosuke slipped between Satomi and Kotoko and placed an arm around her shoulder, "you haven't told us any more about that family you're staying with."

Kotoko glared at the hand which she was unable to shrug off. "What more do you need? It's just a…" she caught sight of Naoki and his curly-haired friend several meters away, "...normal type of family. Father, mother, children. Nothing special."

* * *

"Say, Irie," Watanabe indicated the noisy Class F crew, "isn't that the girl from the earthquake over there?"

Naoki narrowed his eyes. "It looks like her." _I wonder where she's going…_

As if he was psychic, Watanabe spoke, "I wonder where they're going. Looks like they're having fun." He glanced at his friend, whose gaze had not left the group. "Do you want to follow them?"

"Eh?" Naoki shook his attention free. "Why would I do that? Say," he began as they made their way to the train station, "what do you think of Sensei's view of Baudelaire?"


	7. Chapter 7

The day the exam results were released Kotoko gazed at her score paper in awe. _Wow! No makeup exams for me!_ On a whim, she descended the stairs to the ground floor to check the top 100 list.

 _Well, he wasn't lying,_ she thought as she stared at the name of the Number One student. She chuckled then began to shove her way out of the crowd. Halfway there, she ran into Naoki—literally. "Sorry! Oh, it's you! Congratulations on coming in first—as usual!" she joked.

"Let me see it," he demanded as he held out a hand.

"What?" she asked.

"Your grades. You didn't make the top 100, so I want to see your scores."

Kotoko looked around quickly then grabbed his sleeve and dragged him around the corner. "Are you crazy? People will notice!"

"Then hand over that paper and we'll separate all the sooner."

She did so and pouted as he perused the numbers. "I told you that I wasn't trying for the top 100 so I don't know why you even checked. Hey!" she protested when he smacked her forehead with the folded paper.

"I can't believe that I spent time helping you and you still had the audacity to get these scores!"

"What do you mean?" Kotoko snatched it back and opened it. "Look! All of these grades are 20-30 points higher than I normally make. They're great scores!"

He stared at her, arrested. "Do you mean that less than two weeks of cramming raised your scores that much?" When she nodded mutely, he muttered, "What she could be making if she studied consistently…" He shook his head as if to erase the thought. "Congratulations, then. At least you won't have to retake the tests."

"Yay!" she jumped, grinning widely. She held a hand up and this time he responded quickly with the high five. "Free time for me!"

Naoki cleared his throat. "So, do you have celebratory plans with...your friend?" When she looked at him in puzzlement, he clarified. "Megaphone Man."

Kotoko wrinkled her nose. "No. And besides, based on his groans, Kin-chan'll be busy taking retests."

He looked away until he was sure that the resultant smile had been erased from his face. "Well then, I'll see you later," he said before making a quick exit.

* * *

"Boss, tell me again why we're following Kotoko and Satomi," Gintaro inquired of Kinnosuke.

"Hush! They might hear!"

"Nah. Not over all that traffic," Dozo argued. "And besides, we're hiding behind these trees."

"Hssst!" Kinnosuke motioned to them. "Move to the next one!" As the trio scampered to the next tree (also of insufficient shelter for their bulk), a person walking slightly behind them pointed out their antics to his companion.

"What do you think's going on over there, Irie?" Watanabe asked.

"Who knows?" He shrugged. "Perhaps they're mimicking their baboon cousins."

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Satomi!" Kotoko called her farewells as they parted at the transfer station.

Because the three who were tailing her had jammed themselves in the train car's other doorway, all trying to enter at the same time, they missed seeing a tall male wearing their school uniform join Kotoko at the other end of the crowded car.

"Kotoko, just because you act like a boy a good portion of the time doesn't change the fact that you're female. Please take my seat and sit here. I'm really uncomfortable with this situation, plus Mom would have my head if she could see it…"

"Nonsense," she countered. "I've been sitting down nearly all day and would rather stand. Besides," she gave him a comradely poke with her index finger, "you've got to read that Boddie book to keep the Number One rank, don't you?"

Naoki stared up at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Baudelaire. And it takes no effort for me to make good grades. I have an eidetic memory and seldom even bother to study. _You're_ the one who had the better accomplishment this time."

"Yeah," Kotoko agreed as the train approached a curve. "Especially since I really _really_ _**really**_ don't like to study."

It took a moment for Naoki's eyes to leave the portion of her body that was swaying nearer with inertia as the train made the curve. "But I thought your father said that you were planning to attend college?"

"That's right." She rubbed her nose and her bag slipped off her shoulders. "Oh, damn!"

"Here." Naoki took it from her and placed it next to his beneath the seat. "You do understand that college will be full of courses that you have to study for, and ones that are lots more difficult than what you're taking now."

"But by then I hope that I'll know what I want to do with my life, and I'll enjoy the courses I have to take." Her eyes had a faraway gleam in them.

"You're planning to go to college, without knowing what you're going to be studying?" he asked incredulously.

She looked down at him. "Come on. Not everyone has a family business to inherit." She raised a finger as his mouth opened. "And don't even mention Otosan's restaurant. He was always so busy at work that he never got around to teaching me how to cook. I'm really not to be trusted in the kitchen, but he tries it every few months or so to see if things have improved."

Naoki chuckled. "I can't wait to taste—oof!" As the train made a sudden stop, Kotoko's grip loosened from the strap and she fell forward, chest landing right in Naoki's face.

* * *

"What happened, Boss?" Dozo asked as Kinnosuke gave a loud wail.

"That last jerk of the train knocked Kotoko off her feet! She's disappeared and I can't get to her because of all these people!" he moaned in despair.

"No, look!" Gintaro pointed as well he could between other passengers' heads, who turned to glare at the boys. "She's standing up again! She's all right!"

"Praise buddha!" Kinnosuke breathed. "Her face looks a little red—oh damn, she's getting off here. Let us through!"

* * *

Naoki pulled Kotoko to the side immediately after they exited the train. Both sets of cheeks still held remnants of the blushes that resulted from their recent close encounter. "Say, why don't we make a detour and get some ice cream to celebrate your successful scores on the way home?"

Kotoko snapped her fingers. "Better yet, why don't we pick up Yuuki-kun and take him along? He's been scowling at me for stealing his 'Onii-chan' at night while you were helping me study."

"He's exaggerating. I never left our room until after Mom tucked him in, and he's always asleep within five minutes. But," he agreed, "that's a good idea. It's just one more stop to his school so it shouldn't be a problem intercepting him. We'll have to get back on the train, though." He glanced at the crowd. "Stay behind me and I'll forge a path back in."

Several meters down, Kinnosuke's group bent over, panting. "I don't know where she's living, but it's never this crowded on the way to _my_ home," Gintaro claimed.

"Yeah, this is the rich part of town. No matter what she says, I bet she _is_ being treated as a servant!" Kinnosuke's eyes held the fire of righteous anger. "When I pull her from that abusive place, I know she'll look at me—Hey! Why's she getting back on? Let's go, guys!" He charged back through the crowd to reboard.

Gintaro looked at Dozo with raised eyebrows. "Ain't no way I'm fighting that many people. You want to find a game center and goof off for awhile?"

"Sure! It'll be more entertaining than whatever Kin-san has in mind."

* * *

"I don't believe this! Why is Kotoko with that snob Irie? And who's the little brat?" Kinnosuke took another bite of super-choco-caramel sundae and let the spoon hang down as he snapped one more picture of the trio through the leaves of an overgrown monstera plant in the ice cream cafe. "And a fine time for those creeps to bail on me!"

"Wow, Kotoko, I've never seen a girl eat that much ice cream at once!" Yuuki's eyes were wide.

Naoki's face appeared a little green. "You do know that particular menu item is intended for sharing, right?"

Kotoko looked over at him, a glob of chocolate sauce on one cheek. "Oh! You want some of it?"

"No, thanks," he refused politely. "My sorbet was more than sufficient."

Undeterred, she dug in again. "Besides, I never learned to eat 'like a girl'. Remember, I grew up with all those boys. Oops!" She placed a hand over her mouth, further smearing the chocolate. "Had I already told Yuuki-kun that?"

Naoki shot a warning look at her. "Just because _that_ cat is out of the bag doesn't mean the other needs to exit as well."

"Huh?" She blinked at him.

"Never mind!" He sighed and reached across the table to wipe her face then her hands with a napkin. "It's a good thing Mom isn't here!"

"He's touching her face! Now he's holding her hand!" Kinnosuke was crouched in the booth, bent over for the best view, his knees flexing in anticipation of leaping across the distance to rescue her.

"Sir?" The waitress had a confused look on her face. "Is there anything else that you would like to order?" she asked once he turned around and reseated himself.

"No—no! That will be all," he grinned cockily at her. "Maybe the bill now," he added as he noticed the Aihara and Irie contingent gathering their bags.

"Certainly, sir." The waitress bowed and returned shortly with the check. Kinnosuke turned his attention from the group about to walk out the door and picked up the paper. "Wh—!? Why is this place so expensive? Do they store the ice cream in solid gold buckets?" he ranted as he turned his pockets inside out for change.

Yuuki snorted. "Did you hear that character? 'Solid gold buckets', indeed!"

"That _was_ funny, wasn't it, Yuuki-kun?" Kotoko agreed.

* * *

Kinnosuke's brow contained a good half dozen worry furrows as he peered at the trio over his (supposedly) disguising sunglasses. He had to scamper away from the ice cream parlor without tipping the waitress due to lack of funds and had barely managed to board the train after them. "I still don't understand that crazy group. My Kotoko, with that stuffy nerd Irie? There's no way she's attracted to HIM. Of course, Kotoko is such a cutie that even that cold bastard… Aargh! I can't even think about that without getting angry. But the kid—?!"

Once they left the train station and moved into the residential district he found it even more difficult to remain unobserved. If Kotoko and Yuuki hadn't been so involved in a conversation over the virtues of Pokemon versus Digimon, and if Naoki had not been so ostentatiously ignoring them by reading his "Boddie" book while walking, his presence would have been easily detected as his only shelter were the periodic light poles.

Mrs. Irie met them at the front gate. "And what do you three have to say for yourselves? Hmm?" She escorted them to the door and shooed Yuuki inside with a quick swat to his rear, ignoring his protest that it hadn't been his fault, then turned her eyes to the other two. "Stuffing yourselves with ice cream, knowing good and well that I was preparing dinner! Thank goodness you had the courtesy to call me, so I could set the meal back an hour. If your father gripes, Onii-chan," she wagged a finger at Naoki, "I'm putting all the blame on you."

"Well," he admitted, "it _was_ my original idea."

"Now if only it had been just you and Kotoko-chan, I would have been delighted," his mother continued, "but having Yuuki around doesn't make for a romantic atmosphere."

Kotoko chimed in, "I was the one who wanted Yuuki-kun to come along."

"What?!" she screeched. "Onii-chan asked you out on a date and you invited the little brother? You need more lessons, Kotoko-chan!"

"It wasn't a date!" Kotoko and Naoki rebutted her in stereo, then turned to look at each other.

"Jinx!" Kotoko shot out in response. Naoki rolled his eyes.

"See?" Mrs. Irie now had a great smile over her face. "Already your minds are growing closer. Such a wonderful portent for future married happiness. Well, maybe you'll get it right next time and make it just the two of you. Now, come in!"

The two teenagers continued to dispute her assumptions as they entered the house and did not notice the sound of repeated clicks from Kinnosuke's cell phone camera by the gate. A solitary tear fell down his rough cheek as he mourned, "You poor misguided Kotoko! Never mind, I will soon set you straight on who is right for you! Just you wait!"


	8. Chapter 8

Conversation among the three girls was sporadic the following morning, as Jinko was busy sharing songs from a new band that she had discovered. Between tracks they discussed their preferences and thus were almost upon Kinnosuke before they noticed him.

"Yikes!" Jinko jumped. "What are you doing in the middle of the path, Kin-chan? Taking up another donation? It better not be for Kotoko, since she took you down a few pegs the last time you tried it!"

"No," he growled. "But I do want to talk to Kotoko. _Alone!_ " He glared at the other girls, whose response was to place protective arms around their smaller friend.

"Not on your life, Kin-chan!" Satomi countered. "Just because you're in love with Kotoko doesn't give you the right to nag her about it all the time. And first thing in the morning too! Now, get lost for awhile!" The three girls skirted around the young man.

"If that's the way you want it," he muttered then spun around. "Kotoko! Are you living with that Class A jerk Irie?"

The trio came to an abrupt halt. Satomi and Jinko turned to Kotoko with questioning eyes, and she marched back to face Kinnosuke. "What kind of nonsense are you babbling about now, Kin-chan?" she bluffed courageously. "Just because I don't want to go out with you is no reason to drag another person into it!"

"Nonsense, is it?" he spat out. "Then explain this!" He produced his cellphone with a flourish. The three leaned in and peered at it.

"That's Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail in one of her fan-service swimsuits," Kotoko stated in a deadpan tone. "Is that all?"

"No—wha—how did that get there?!" Kinnosuke began tapping keys on his phone as Satomi and Jinko exchanged raised eyebrows. "Here!" He held out the phone again.

"Eep!" Kotoko swallowed suddenly. There was a picture from the ice cream parlor, and one on the train, and even one outside the Irie home! "Uh, well, what happened was…" she began.

"And that woman," he brought up a closeup of Mrs. Irie, "was talking about you and that bastard Irie getting married. So what about it _now_?"

"Kotoko! I thought I saw you and Irie-kun getting off a train together!" Satomi exclaimed.

"And I could have sworn you were with him near the roster board!" Jinko added.

When Kotoko admitted that it was the Irie family that she was living with, the two girls drew even nearer to her.

"So, Kotoko." Jinko grinned at her. "Time to have a little girls' talk!" Satomi nodded in agreement.

"No!" Kinnosuke waved his arms and disputed with them. "Stop looking at it like that! That house is a dangerous place for an innocent girl like her to be in!" He charged on, unable to see that he had lost the attention of Kotoko's friends. "I don't know how I'll do it, but I'll get you out of that den of vipers somehow or another!"

"Vipers, did you say?" It seemed as if the temperature suddenly dropped five degrees. Naoki plucked the phone out of Kinnosuke's unresisting hand. "My family has offered hospitality to friends in need, and you describe us as poisonous snakes. Your imagination is running riot—as usual," he added snidely.

"B-but—hey, you, Irie!" He finally got his words back and began pointing erratically at the other boy. "You need to stay away from my Kotoko! She's a good honest girl. No taking her to expensive cafés and such to turn her head!"

"Expensive?" Naoki chuckled suddenly. "Oh, you mean like where ice cream is kept in solid gold buckets?"

Kotoko's eyes widened at the combination of the comment and Kinnosuke's discomfiture. "That was you, Kin-chan? Yuuki-kun and I thought it was so funny!"

"A-a-and who's this Yuuki, now?" he sputtered. "Another evil person that you've met in that house?"

"You're speaking of my younger brother," Naoki informed him, "and I don't think that his third grade self is much of a threat to Aihara-san." He tossed the phone back to its owner. "If you know what's good for you, you'll drop this ridiculous pursuit and stop bothering her." He spun around and rejoined a wide-eyed Watanabe. "I suppose I'd better clue you in," he muttered as they entered the building.

"I can't wait," his bespeckled friend chuckled in response.

Behind them came another shout from Kinnosuke. "Hey! What happened to all my pictures?! When did that bastard erase them? Oh, no! My Mirajane folder too!"

* * *

"Now, Kotoko, spill!" The three girls were crammed into a stall in the third floor restroom.

"Well, like Irie-kun said, my father and I are staying with his family until our house is repaired."

"Irie-kun! Irie-kun!" Satomi exclaimed to Jinko. "She says his name so calmly!"

"You can tell us, Kotoko," Jinko nudged her, "what's he like at home?"

"Um, he's pretty nice. Not too talkative—"

"Whoa!" Satomi held up a hand. "Did he help you study for midterms?"

Kotoko nodded her head sheepishly.

"You traitor! You got a personal tutor and left the rest of us to do retakes!"

"Sounds like you two are a lot closer than you're letting on."

"Not really. His mother treats me like a daughter, so I'm sort of an extra child in the family."

"Wait! Maybe that idiot Kin-chan is on to something!"

"What do you mean?"

"This could be Kotoko's perfect opportunity!"

"Huh?" Kotoko was getting dizzy from moving her head back and forth to follow the conversation.

"Irie-kun has never dated anyone, never had a girlfriend. Now Kotoko is right there in his house, in the next bedroom maybe?"

They looked at her in question. She gave a weak grin and nodded.

"It's a chance that just about any girl in this school would kill for!"

"What do you mean?" Kotoko asked.

"Go after the super prince! Make him yours!"

"Mine?"

"Ro-man-tic-ally," Jinko drawled suggestively.

"But I don't think about him that way."

"Are you _really_ a woman?" Satomi stared at her.

Jinko was blunt. "Don't you think he's good looking?"

Kotoko thought for a minute. "Well, yes."

"And he plays tennis—"

"—so he has an athlete's body."

"Hmm. He _is_ pretty strong." Kotoko thought back to him carrying in her boxes the first night and, more recently, catching her in the train and setting her back on her feet. She blushed a little at the second memory, recalling how close they were when she fell against him.

Her friends pounced on the extra color in her cheeks. "See! You've noticed him!"

"Now, you just have to make your move…"

"No, no!" Kotoko shook both her hands and her head in vigorous denial. "No one is making a move. I like my relationship with Nao—Irie-kun just fine the way it is!"

"Ha!" Jinko pointed at her. "You almost called him Naoki! You've gotten farther than you're letting on!"

"Don't be silly!" Kotoko pushed her way to the stall door and shoved it open. "Your imagination is as...as lurid as Kin-chan's!"

A group of young ladies applying lipstick at the sinks followed her with their eyes as she departed.


	9. Chapter 9

Naoki's concentration on the pamphlets of Thomas Paine was disrupted by the high-pitched buzz that was the harbinger of a wave of gossip. Others in the school might believe that the rarefied Class A was impervious to rumor, but people were the same everywhere. It seemed that everyone except him loved the high of conveying bits of scandal to one another. He hoped—without much expectation—that this latest rumble did not involve him. He did not take it as a good sign when Watanabe seated himself in the chair next to him with an air of suppressed excitement. Resigned, Naoki marked his place and laid the book on the desk. It seemed that his lunchtime reading would have to wait.

"So what is it this time?" he asked with feigned boredom.

"There was a fight in the Class F hallway," he whispered.

"Class F?" His eyes shot to his friend. _Surely this had nothing to do with…_

"It looks like about five Class B girls and Aihara got into a fight. I heard that Aihara is going to be suspended—Irie!" he called after his friend who was by now out the door.

* * *

It was a pretty battered looking Kotoko who sat in the office under the watchful eye of the school secretary. She weakly waggled a few fingers at him as he approached and bent over her. Her nose was bleeding, one eye was swollen, scratches on her cheek almost reached the other eye, and her lip was cut. Her hair, which this morning had been arranged in braided pigtail loops, was falling onto her shoulders. Add various scrapes on her legs and scuffs on her jacket to the fact that she was cradling one wrist, and he could imagine the pain she was in. The principal emerged from his office, having been notified by his secretary that another student was waiting.

"Ah, Irie," he walked toward him with hand extended in welcome to the top student in the school, if not the country, "how may I help you this afternoon?" He glared at Kotoko." You just stay right there in that seat, young lady, until we can notify your family of your misdeeds."

"Can you tell me with what she is accused?" Naoki asked the principal in a deceptively calm voice.

"Why this young ruffian from Class F assaulted several of the brighter students in our school. Unprovoked, she began a fight that injured all of them."

"And where _are_ those young ladies?"

"Their injuries have been tended and they have been sent back to class. Although, if they had wanted to leave early due to the shock, I certainly would have allowed that!" the principal stated in an almost jocular manner.

Naoki's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't look like Aihara's wounds have been treated."

"Let her family take care of that!" The principal scowled at the girl. "Especially since she will be staying home for a week due to this affront to decency!"

"Why have the other students been spared punishment?" Naoki's voice was growing colder and colder.

Heedless of the increasing chill, the principal waved off his concerns. "Those honor students don't need this blot on their records. Class F is always the instigator in these situations."

"Really?" Kotoko shivered at his tone. "Well, I think it is very interesting that a student who managed to pass the entrance exam to get into this high school, even if she _is_ in Class F, would have pulled five girls from class B all the way down the hall and across the breezeway to stage an altercation. Are you absolutely certain that the first blow came from Aihara?"

"Well, uh," the principal stammered, at last aware that he was no longer in control of the conversation.

"Are you saying that you didn't bother questioning witnesses? Your father is a lawyer, Watanabe," Naoki called over his shoulder, having recognized his friend's footsteps following him, "what would he say about such a rush to judgment?"

"I think in a case like that, there would be an external investigation." Watanabe strove to appear as calm and cool as Naoki as he leaned against the door frame.

"Well," the principal tried to bluff, "you know we have a zero tolerance for fighting in schools, Irie. I can't overlook it."

"Then in that case, shouldn't the other participants be called back down to the office and given the same punishment as Aihara?" He gave a pointed look at the shaking secretary, who, upon being given the nod from her boss, began to call the classroom.

Naoki leaned down and placed an arm under Kotoko's shoulder to lift her to a standing position. "Watanabe, I believe I can count on you to bat cleanup for me while I take Aihara to the nurse's office and then see her home." His eyes speared the principal's. "One week's suspension, didn't you say?"

* * *

At Kotoko's gasp, Naoki's eyes shot to her face. "I'm sorry this stings, but I need to clean up this last scrape."

She gave him a wobbly smile. "News sure travels fast in this school. The old hypocrite had barely finished yelling at me when you showed up."

He showed a flash of teeth. "Don't speak so loudly. You never know who could be listening. But," he leaned closer, "I agree with your assessment of him. He was planning to let the others off without punishment!"

"Well," she preened with fake modesty, the pose ruined by a wince, "I did learn to fight dirty when I was younger, so they don't look much better than me!"

"I'm afraid to ask—was the reason for the fight related to this morning's revelations?"

"Revel—? Oh, you mean about us living together? I suppose so. Those snooty girls got all up in my face, calling me a slut and such things. They're the ones who started the slapping and hair-pulling though." She spat some blood into a tissue. "Weak fighters, all of them. I used my elbows, feet, and fists, plus I got in a few headbutts. Ow!"

"Sorry, but it looks like they twisted your wrist pretty badly."

"Too bad it's not my writing one," Kotoko mourned. "I could get out of _so much_ homework."

"After what you've just achieved in the midterms? What goes on in that head of yours? Hold still, I need to reach the elastic bandage behind you." He leaned over, arm outstretched.

* * *

Kotoko's two friends argued quietly as they proceeded to the nurse's office. "That stupid principal, giving Kotoko a suspension just for defending herself!"

Satomi fretted. "I had a bad feeling when I saw those girls call her out, but I ignored it."

"I recognized one of them from the restroom this morning. They probably overheard us talking, those bitches!"

"Most likely, but it wouldn't have mattered. Kin-chan was loud enough outside, so something like this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"And then the teacher locked us in the room so we couldn't help pull them off her!" Jinko growled. "Not to mention getting a few good jabs in to help our girl!" She punched the air in frustration.

"Well, at least Kotoko won't have to walk all the way back to the classroom for her things. We'll give her a big hug and promise to meet with—Whoa!"

Satomi pulled a protesting Jinko back and shushed her. They peeked around the corner of the door and watched an interesting silhouette show.

Kotoko and Naoki had been placed in the farthest booth by the harried nurse, who had been called to Class 3-B for more bandages and a case of hysteria. The early afternoon sun, reflected off a solar panel in the adjacent back field, shone through the open window and projected their shadows onto the ceiling-high dividing curtain. As Naoki leaned across Kotoko for the bandage, the shadows of their heads appeared to meet.

The two girls backed down the hallway and consulted each other in whispers.

"Was that what I think it was?"

"It looked like a kiss to me."

"That girl was so sly—!"

"Maybe the fight made them realize their feelings!"

"We shouldn't interrupt…"

"Let's just shove her bags into the room and vamoose!"

* * *

Naoki continued to fumble for the bandage, which had fallen on its side and rolled away. When Kotoko heard the slight sound of the bags being pushed along the floor, she instinctively turned in that direction. There was a slight collision of their heads—specifically their lips—due to their proximity to each other. They froze for a moment before they both backed away, eyes wide.

"An accident! It was an accident!" Naoki said.

"Ah, yes, of course it was!" Kotoko agreed without a pause. "I, uh, thought I heard something and turned—"

"And there I was!" Naoki finished.

"Yes, that's right! But what made that sound?" She tugged the curtain open. "Someone dropped my bags off! But why didn't they stop and say anything?" She looked at Naoki when he made no response.

He was staring down at her with no expression on his face. He jumped when he realized that she was expecting an answer and his brain replayed her last few words. "I don't know. Perhaps they had to hurry back to class."

"Maybe so!" Kotoko hopped off the bed. "You need to do the same. I have to go home and tell Otosan—and Obasama—how unladylike I was today!" She scowled, then flinched as the motion pulled on her cut lip.

"I can escort you home, Kotoko. I'm sure that you're feeling a little wobbly right now…"

"Nonsense!" she contradicted him. "It would take more than this to make an invalid of me. Besides, the train shouldn't be as crowded and I can sit down, since that seems so important to you." She made a feeble attempt at humor.

"Sure?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

She gave him a cheerful thumbs up in response and limped to her bags. "I'll see you later."

* * *

He wasn't expecting that the next time they would meet she would grab him by the arm and drag him into her bedroom.

"A little dramatic, aren't you? What is it now?" He looked her up and down. She had changed into her usual after school outfit, which he suspected was her middle school gym clothes. Her scrapes had been rebandaged, courtesy of his mother, he supposed.

"You have _got_ to help me," she begged.

"What do you mean?"

"Obasama is planning to give me all-day lady lessons while I'm suspended! Anything but that! Use your super brain and think of some way to get me out of this!"

Hiding his amusement, he asked, "Why should it be my responsibility?"

"It was your fan girls who got me into this!"

"Fan girls?" he queried.

"Yes. You know, 'Irie-kun belongs to everybody.' 'We all agreed to admire him from afar.'" When an expression of horror began to appear on his face, she pressed on. "You know, all the usual shoujo bully speeches. Not that I read _that_ ," she quickly distanced herself, "but Satomi has quite the collection."

"What _do_ you read? No, never mind!" He refused to be sidetracked. "They really said that to you? Crap." He sat down on her bed. "Now I _do_ feel responsible."

"So?" She nudged him with her unbandaged hand. "What do you have? And make it good, because this is the first time I've asked a guy to save me."

"Don't make a habit of it," Naoki responded absently. "Most rescues have strings attached."

"Strings? What do you—" she broke off when she saw his expression change. She could tell that he had an idea, but what was that gleam in his eye?

"You said 'anything', right?"

"S-sure."

"No going back now!" he warned her.

"Will it keep me from lady lessons?" Kotoko narrowed her eyes.

"Not from all of them, but you will have a great excuse to get out of _hours_ of them."

She rubbed her right hand on her rear and held it out. "Deal, then!"

Naoki stared at it for a moment then took it. "Deal! Now, about those strings…"

* * *

"Daily tutoring?! But why? I passed my midterms!" she wailed.

"And you could do so much better!" he argued. "Wouldn't you like to do well enough in your classes so that you don't even have to worry about major tests?"

"Yes, but…"

"And the deeper your basic knowledge, the better chance you will find out what you want to do in life—and sooner!"

"Wait a minute." She grinned cannily at him. "I thought you didn't want Obasama to know that we were studying together."

"Sometimes you've got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them." Kotoko looked at him blankly. "Your little gang didn't play poker? Look," he said holding out a hand, "we already know what she's up to, and she's not backing down one whit. We just have to hold strong. So there's no wiggling out of the deal using that excuse!"

She planted her disgruntled chin on a fist. "I can just see you as the evil head of an organization bent on world domination. At least I'll be in your power for only a week."

"No," he provided a suitably sadistic leer as he informed her, "this is _ad infinitum_."

"Wait!" she held up a hand. "I know that's not Japanese, and I don't think it's English either. But I thought I heard something like 'infinite'."

"That's right. The lessons will continue past your suspension."

Kotoko leaned back. "Damn! That's low! I'd better light a fire under Otosan to get the house repaired."

Naoki paused. "The house—" Right, she wasn't going to live here permanently. "So," he shook himself, "did you receive enough assignments before the altercation today to keep you busy tomorrow?"

"If not, I'll make them stretch," she informed him gloomily.

"Fine. I'll check with your teachers tomorrow and get what you need for the next week." He rose and prepared to leave.

"Did those girls get suspended also?" she asked when he was almost at the door.

He turned. "Unfortunately, justice is not always blind. But because of pressure from me and Watanabe, they at least got two days suspension, if not a week like you."

"Hell!" She chewed on a thumbnail. "I should have hit them harder then."


	10. Chapter 10

Naoki stood outside the doorway of Class F and listened in horror. How was anyone supposed to learn anything amid that din? The teacher was lecturing in a monotone, not even looking up from his notes, while the students' antics ranged from nail polish application to the throwing of a rubber ball. The instigator of the whole mess involving Kotoko sat slumped at his desk glumly (as well he should!) while the two other delinquents appeared to be trying to cheer him up with lingerie photograph magazines. One of Kotoko's female friends had her head down on her desk, apparently taking a nap, while the other was redoing her makeup with a small light-up mirror.

He thought of the studious atmosphere in his own classroom, where the only sounds other than the professor were the students taking notes. He had almost decided to retreat and seek out the persons he needed in the staff room instead of interrupting class, but the barely audible drone of the lecture stumbled to a halt when the teacher noticed him at the doorway. A few of the students turned to follow his gaze and their startled gasps made him the cynosure of all eyes.

"I-Irie?" the professor stuttered.

Naoki bowed. "I hope I am not interrupting at a crucial time…?"

"No, no! Please! Enter!"

He noticed that the servility of the teacher had set off a series of murmured conversations among the students, and he proceeded to the podium, ignoring a set of killing glares from Megaphone Man and his cohorts. "I would like to get assignments for Aihara Kotoko, covering the next week," he spoke softly.

"Ah—yes!" The man's eyes grew wide as he recalled the situation of Kotoko's suspension. He thumbed through his binder and muttered to himself. "Chapters 22-24, all the review questions. Do you need me to write this down for you?" He looked up at the student.

"Not necessary. I can remember that," Naoki assured him. "Could you tell me who her other teachers are?"

While the names were listed off, Naoki overheard, "What is that stuck-up genius doing here? Doesn't he feel any responsibility for Kotoko?"

"You shush, Kin-chan! Leave him alone."

"Yeah, you had your chance and blew it, making such a fuss!"

Naoki winced and closed his eyes. He had been afraid of this. Now there was going to be even more useless talk and speculation. Realizing that the teacher had finished speaking, he bowed his gratitude. "Thank you, Sensei." He quickly exited.

* * *

It cannot be said that the tutoring sessions went smoothly. Naoki was appalled at Kotoko's lack of background knowledge in most of her subjects.

"How can you have arrived at the last year of high school and not know the two fundamental theorems of calculus?" he inquired in irritation. Said irritation only increased when she replied with a careless shrug. With a sound that would have been a snarl if made by any other being on the planet, Naoki turned to the front of the textbook. "I might as well start at the beginning, then."

Mrs. Irie, so overjoyed that the two were spending time together, did not regret losing Kotoko's training for part of the day. Not that that meant she left them alone—and not that she was trying to keep them from doing something they weren't "supposed to"—but she just couldn't resist witnessing and chronicling the "advancement of their romance," as she put it.

After the third interruption one afternoon (once to snap a quick photograph, second to deliver a tray of fruit and cheese, and third to ask if the temperature was comfortable) Naoki muttered a profanity under his breath. When Kotoko failed to stifle her giggle completely, he glared at her.

Audaciously she grinned and taunted, "Regretting your bargain already, Naoki-kun?"

He sighed. "Even though your education is woefully deficient, the problem is not insurmountable. If Mom would just let us get down to business—!"

Kotoko stretched. "Imagine how I feel while you're gone. It's not as if I can be rude to her, considering that your family has given us a home."

"Be as rude to her as you like. She probably wouldn't even recognize— What the hell is it now?!" he roared as a knock was heard on Kotoko's door.

"Onii-chan?" Yuuki's face appeared in the crack.

Naoki sighed. "Sorry, Otouto. It's just that Mother—come on in!" He waved him over.

Yuuki closed the door and approached warily.

"Hey, Yuuki-kun!" Kotoko greeted him enthusiastically. "How was school today?"

He glanced at her. "It was okay. But I was wondering if Onii-chan could help me with my homework."

"Ha!" Kotoko responded. "Third grade, right? Let me look at it." Wordlessly he handed over the workbook. Naoki covered his smile as he watched Kotoko turn it sideways and upside down while her expression changed from confidence to consternation to bafflement. "They teach _this_ in third grade?!" She gave an over-dramatic sigh, then handed it across the low table. "All yours, Naoki-kun!"

"Have a seat, Yuuki," he ordered. "I can teach two just as easily as I can teach one. Although," he added with a glint in his eye, " _that_ one requires twice the patience as you!" Yuuki smirked at Kotoko and she stuck her tongue out at him. Naoki hit them both over the head with a stack of papers. "Behave!"

* * *

The next morning Naoki and Watanabe halted their approach to the school building when they heard, "Irie-kun?"

Naoki turned and recognized Kotoko's two female friends. "Yes?"

There was a brief pause while they elbowed each other, then Satomi asked, "Hey, Kotoko tells us that she's okay, but how is she really doing?"

"Fine," he replied tersely. "Her scrapes are healed over and the more severe injuries are improving." Noticing the expressions of relief on their faces, he managed a small smile. "Are you the ones who brought Kotoko's bags to the nurse's office?" At their nods he added, "Thank you for that. She would have been in more pain if she had to travel back upstairs to retrieve them."

"More embarrassment, you mean," Jinko muttered.

"Embarrassment?" Watanabe interjected. "I don't think Aihara-san had anything to be embarrassed about. After all, she was the one attacked."

"Right," Satomi responded. "But what Jinko meant was that Kotoko—despite our attempts to civilize her—would have been embarrassed that she couldn't take them all out."

Watanabe looked confused. "But Aihara-san did quite a bit of damage. I saw the young ladies when they were called back to the office."

"Yeah," Jinko glared darkly. "But it was five to one and those bimbos only got two days suspension!"

He shot a look at Naoki, whose face had tightened at the comment. "Well," he added quickly, "they were going to be let off scot-free, but Irie here created a small ruckus about the situation."

"Come on, Watanabe," Naoki countered. "When have I ever been associated with a 'ruckus'? I just strongly suggested that the lack of punishment did not appear to be fair."

"In a superior tone that implied a threat of lawsuit," his friend added.

Satomi and Jinko eyed Naoki with admiration. "Huh? You finally used that coldness of yours on the side of good!" Jinko observed.

"Why does everyone see me as cold? Is a calm quiet high school life too much to expect?" Naoki asked rhetorically.

"It is if Kotoko's involved," Satomi answered. "Even if she's not actually here."

Both boys looked at her quizzically, although it was Watanabe who asked, "What do you mean?"

Jinko smacked a fist into her palm. "Those skanks are coming back to school today, while Kotoko is still imprisoned at home."

"Not that we're insulting your house, Irie-kun," Satomi assured him quickly.

Naoki nodded as Jinko continued staunchly, "Our Class F girls are going to show Class B that we stand by our own!"

Watanabe held out a hand. "Let me assure you, as someone who is going into the legal profession, that violence is _not_ the answer."

"But we want justice for Kotoko!" Jinko insisted.

"No," Naoki broke in, one of his rare grins creeping across his face. "This isn't Class F's fight."

"Well then, whose is it?" Jinko demanded.

"Leave it to us. Let Class A put Class B in its proper place."

"Ooh," Satomi looked admiringly from one to the other, "I like that idea."

"What? What idea?" Jinko asked.

Satomi hustled her along. "I'll tell you later." She called back to the boys, "They're usually grouped in the central courtyard right now!" She tugged again on Jinko's arm. "Would you hurry up? I want a good seat!"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N1: Sorry for the cliff-hanger! Maybe this chapter will make up for it!**

* * *

"What's the plan, Irie?" Watanabe asked as they made their way through the students. He was even more aware than usual of the fact that people parted to give Naoki a clear path.

"Believe it or not," Naoki laughed shortly, "I haven't the faintest idea. That girl must have rubbed off on me." A thought came to him as they proceeded forward. "You don't suppose they know who was responsible for their suspensions, do you?"

"Not a clue," Watanabe replied. "The old goat took them into the office and closed the door. I couldn't hear a thing."

"Then they don't," he concluded. "He wouldn't admit that a student forced his hand. He probably told them that the school's regulations required a mandatory suspension."

"So we're going in?"

"Yes."

* * *

The girls on the outer edge of the chattering circle were the first to notice the approaching duo. Naoki thought that it was almost comical to see the nudges and dropped jaws as they neared. He and Watanabe paused in front of the over-bandaged students.

"Look at those injuries," Naoki commented to Watanabe. "Were you the victims of bullies, perhaps?" he asked the one with the boldest glance.

"Why, yes, we were," she preened, adding a wince for effect.

"Then the school administration must be notified. We can't have a gang of ruffians riding roughshod over our students."

The girl's smile faltered. "Well, it wasn't exactly a gang…"

"I've heard that the latest thugs are running in pairs," Watanabe noted casually.

"Um, it was just one person," she admitted.

Another one became emboldened at their interest and elaborated. "It was that low-class Aihara!"

"Yes," added an additional girl. "We even heard a rumor that she's living with you! Is that true?"

"Why, yes, it is," Naoki replied mildly, rocking back on his heels. He glanced at the crowd surrounding them. _Well, if there was anyone in school who had missed that Class F blabbermouth's announcement several days ago, they would certainly hear the news this morning._

"You should kick out that tramp," proclaimed the first one confidently. "She's just exaggerating the situation to get close to you."

"You know how trashy those class F idiots are," tittered another.

"Mm," Naoki turned to Watanabe. "I didn't realize that Aihara was powerful enough to manipulate the elements."

Noticing the blank stares of some of the listeners, Watanabe added for their benefit, "To create an earthquake to destroy her home?"

"Yes, _that_ 'exaggerated' situation. Oh, and another thing, Watanabe," Naoki spoke to his friend while appearing to ignore the girls, "have you heard anything about me belonging to everyone?"

"What? Wouldn't that be slavery? That was abolished in 1590." He laughed. "It's obvious that you belong to no one but yourself."

"Even Aihara?" asked one girl tartly. The group had sobered, having finally noticed that Naoki and Watanabe were _not_ on their side.

Naoki speared her with a glare. "Perhaps members of Class B haven't realized that Class A and Class F students have one important trait in common: they are loyal to their friends. And despite the irregularity of how it came about, Aihara _is_ my friend. Is that clear?"

Satomi, cell phone held up recording the scene, murmured to Jinko. "Ice cold Irie-kun is on a roll!"

"Brr!" Jinko shivered dramatically. "I can even feel the chill from here. But did he say he was just her friend? What about that kiss?"

* * *

Kotoko was not downstairs to greet Naoki when he arrived home from school that day. He thought it odd but did not mention it to his mother, not wanting to listen to more of her daydreams. He knocked softly at the door.

"Come in!" she called.

He entered and found her seated cross-legged (thank goodness his mother couldn't see that!) on the bed, her phone lying face-down beside her. "You feel all right, Kotoko? You look a little...strange."

Ignoring the question, she asked one of her own. "How was school today, Naoki-kun?"

"Fine," he answered shortly, still eyeing her closely. _Something was off…_

"Anything...unusual happen?" she asked, not meeting his eyes.

He sighed. "Who called you?"

"Satomi videotaped an interesting encounter and sent it to me," she admitted. "Why did you do that?"

Now it was his turn to look away. "The whole situation was entirely unfair to you. I decided to make my position clear, since there was no guarantee that they wouldn't try to make mischief again."

"You admitted in front of the entire school–because you can't convince me that everyone hasn't heard of it–that we were friends." She leaped off the bed and engulfed him in a bear hug. "You sacrificed your peaceful senior year for me! I won't forget that!"

He stared at the top of her head, flustered. "Well, I realized that the peace I thought I wanted was a bit boring. Quite overrated, as a matter of fact."

She leaned back and grinned at him. "I've never been accused of being boring, that's for sure!"

Naoki smiled at her in response. "Of that, I'm certain. Uh, Kotoko, how about letting me go?"

"Oh!" She jumped back and laughed nervously. "Don't know what got into me."

"Yeah. I was expecting you to have us spit in our hands and shake instead of _that_."

"Huh. Does sound more like me. Sorry."

The two were stiffly straightening their rumpled clothes when Yuuki burst in, waving a paper. "I got a 100 on the quiz!" His excitement dissolved the tension in a second.

"Wow, Yuuki-kun, that's great!" Kotoko caught the second Irie son in another hug and swung him around. "Let me see," she demanded after she let him go. "I've never gotten a 100 before!"

"It was all thanks to you, Onii-chan," Yuuki said to his brother.

Ruffling his hair, Naoki disagreed. "No, it's because you listened to my instructions and then studied properly. Which is something the other person in this room could also do, if she put her mind to it."

Kotoko twirled around, eyes searching. "Who in the world are you talking about?"

* * *

Kotoko staggered downstairs the next morning, scandalizing Mrs. Irie with her attire. "Kotoko! Why aren't you wearing those cute pink baby doll pjs I bought for you?"

"Maybe because they're _pink_?" Kotoko muttered as she sat down.

Naoki, reading the Nikkei Shimbun, snorted coffee out his nose. After his mother handed him an extra napkin and patted him on the back, she leaned over and whispered to Kotoko, "I know that if Onii-chan caught a glimpse of you in them…"

"Shoot, my bad," Kotoko apologized with an eye roll while Naoki commanded his brain, _Don't go there. Don't go there._ The memory of the hug yesterday still made his temperature rise.

"Well, maybe next time." Mrs. Irie patted her arm. "Now what can I get you to eat?"

"Nothing much, Obasama." Kotoko smiled weakly. "Just some juice. My tummy's not feeling too well this morning."

"Oh!" She mock-whispered, "Did your monthly visitor arrive?"

As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Yuuki asked, "Kotoko has company? How come I didn't hear about it?"

Mrs. Irie hushed him. "Now you just never mind that, Yuuki-kun. This is girl talk."

"Why?" he protested. "It's not like Kotoko is a _real_ girl!"

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Irie began berating her younger son.

Naoki cleared his throat. "Kotoko, I have a club meeting after school, so I'll be a little late today."

"Okay." She smiled up at him.

He folded his napkin and stood. "I, ah, hope you start feeling better."

"Yeah." She shoved some of her loose hair behind her ear. _No, it's not at all uncomfortable to talk about female complaints with Naoki,_ she thought sarcastically. She suddenly stared straight ahead. _Yikes! With that spontaneous hug yesterday and the embarrassment this morning_ ‒ _Does this mean I'm starting to think like a girl?_ She shuddered, not in revulsion but perhaps in...anticipation?

* * *

 **A/N2: In case you're not aware yet, this romance is on a very slow simmer.**

 **A/N3: I am leaving to visit relatives who have highly erratic Internet service. While I may be able to write like mad, I might not be able to upload for about a week. Sorry!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Trip has been delayed due to hubby's upper respiratory infection. So, business as usual.**

* * *

Naoki was still in a slightly grumpy mood by the time he arrived home. The tennis coach had insisted that he attend practices in the upcoming summer break, "no matter how well you do in competition." At least he wasn't as anal as that idiot Sudo, who apparently was now terrorizing the tennis players at the associated Tonan University. His attendance there was a great incentive to look elsewhere for higher education.

He changed out of his uniform and splashed water on his face before opening the door to Kotoko's bedroom after a brief knock. He stopped in the doorway. Kotoko leaned against the side of the bed, her attention fully on a handheld game device. Behind her Yuuki lay on the bed reading. _And, come to think of it, where had three quarters of those stuffed animals disappeared to?_

"Goofing off, I see," he greeted them.

"Just a minute, Naoki-kun." Kotoko was concentrating so much on her game that the tip of her tongue could be seen between her lips.

He slid his gaze to his brother. "What are you reading, Otouto?" He plucked the volume of manga from his brother's hands.

"Hey!" Yuuki protested.

Naoki thumbed through the pages. "Does Mother know that you spent your allowance on this?"

"I didn't! It's Kotoko's!" he argued.

Kotoko let out a sigh of frustration and lowered the game console. "Lost again! How am I supposed to concentrate with you two yammering on?"

Naoki held up the offending item in question. "Kotoko, is _this_ the type of book you read?"

"Yeah," she said. "All my pals from elementary school read shounen manga. That was one of my favorites from back then, so I thought Yuuki-kun might enjoy it."

"Told you, Onii-chan!" Yuuki reached for the book. "Now will you please give it back?"

Naoki ignored him and pointed to a panel. "So you think Yuuki should be exposed to this type of image?"

Kotoko looked at it and scratched her head. "I guess I forgot how much fan-service was in that series." She sighed. "At the time I thought that was pretty true to life." She gazed down at her chest. "I've come to the conclusion that I'll never reach those proportions."

Naoki stood speechless for a moment, as his mind ran over the feel of her body after her fall on the train and the recent hug. _She certainly had curves, but_ –he shook his head to get rid of that thought. "Well, why should you?" He gestured with the book. "These depictions are totally unrealistic, especially for Japanese women, and‒Hey!"

Yuuki had taken advantage of his momentary distraction to snatch the book back. "Made me lose my place," he grumbled.

* * *

Two afternoons later Naoki handed the last completed worksheet back to Kotoko after checking it over. "That's it. You're done‒finished. You even have the night off after dinner."

"Yay!" Kotoko pumped her fist into the air.

"Uh, I do have a confession." Naoki cleared his throat when Kotoko turned to him. "I taught you the subjects farther than assigned, so you're now a week ahead of your classmates."

"What the—!" Yuuki raised his head from his latest book. "You mean you worked me harder than I needed?! You meanie!" She began pounding Naoki about the shoulders and arms with her fists. _Typical Kotoko and Onii-chan behavior,_ Yuuki thought and returned to the manga.

"Listen to me!" Naoki caught hold of her hands. "You were able to do it, right?" Kotoko nodded mulishly. "You're smarter than you think and than you've been told! You don't belong in Class F!"

"But I'm happy there," she argued. "That's where all my friends are!"

He hissed in frustration. "I'm not telling you that you have to change classes. It's probably impossible at this point," he added as an aside. "But don't you want more opportunities?"

"More opportunities for what? I'm not a genius like you, Naoki-kun!"

"Why limit yourself to the escalator college?" he asked. "I'm not saying that you could get into Todai, but here are other excellent colleges in Japan."

Kotoko stilled. "Do you really believe that I've been limiting myself?" When he nodded she asked, "Couldn't it just be that you're a better teacher than the ones I have at school?"

"That only proves my point, you know."

"Hmph! I'm going to have to think about this some more."

Naoki released her hands. "You'd better think quickly." She cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "Your suspension is over. You return to school tomorrow. You need to decide how you're going to act and respond in class."

She covered her eyes with her hands and let out an aggrieved scream. "Ah! It's too much! Both of you," she waved one hand, "get out! I need to think by myself."

"Kotoko, can I—"

"Yes, Yuuki-kun, you can borrow the manga. Here," she thrust some more at him, "here are the next few volumes. Just don't let your Onii-chan confiscate them! They're my prized possessions‒I pulled them out of the earthquake wreckage."

"Hm. I wondered why it was so dusty," Yuuki muttered as he fled with his contraband reading.

* * *

Kotoko walked soberly next to Naoki on her return to school. He glanced down at her several times but she was not inclined to conversation.

She was surprised to see Satomi and Watanabe waiting together at the train station. Noticing her confused expression, Naoki commented, "We thought that it would be wise to make a show of solidarity this morning."

"You really thought this through, didn't you, Naoki-kun?"

"What are friends for?" he responded.

She grinned at him and approached the two. After greeting Satomi, she bowed to Watanabe. "Since we have not been formally introduced, my name is Aihara Kotoko. I thank you for what you and Irie-kun have done on my behalf."

"A bow?" Watanabe teased. "With what Irie has been telling me, I was expecting a high five or, at the least, a handshake."

Kotoko frowned at Naoki. "You _have_ been chatty, haven't you?"

He shrugged and the quartet began the last leg to school, with Jinko meeting them outside the final station. The girls walked a few paces ahead of the boys, allowing them the privacy of a whispered conversation.

"Do you expect any trouble today?" asked Watanabe.

Naoki frowned. "Not from Class B. The only one I'm concerned about is…"

"Kotoko!" Kinnosuke came running down the path towards them, arms wide, his backpack bouncing from side to side. His two pals followed close behind and cast curious glances at the Class A members of the group.

Satomi and Jinko immediately formed a human barrier between Kotoko and her over-enthusiastic admirer. "Just settle yourself, now, Kin-chan," Satomi advised.

"But I haven't seen her in a week!" he yowled.

"And whose fault is _that_?" she snapped back.

"Actually, he only exposed what everyone was going to find out eventually," Kotoko said, trying to calm their tempers. "The rest...just happened."

"See!" Kinnosuke crowed. "Kotoko's not blaming me!"

"Well, you still need to back off!" Satomi was unmoved.

"Yeah!" Jinko added. "She's a little fragile yet!" She pointed to the light bandage still covering the left wrist.

"Fragile like a wrecking ball," Naoki muttered to Watanabe, who chuckled.

Kinnosuke's head spun around at the sound. "What's that? You'd better not be making fun of my Kotoko!"

"Yeah!" "Right!" echoed his two shadows belligerently.

"Not at all," Watanabe smoothly assured them. "I have the utmost respect and admiration for Aihara-san!"

"Get that, Kotoko!" Jinko squeezed her arm. "Now you have two Class A boys after you!"

Satomi's face held a quick frown as Kotoko gave Jinko a confused expression.

Kinnosuke's face grew darker. "What is it with all you nerds coming on to Kotoko?"

"It's not as if she's yours!" Jinko scolded him. "Now get out of the way!" She shoved their group past Kinnosuke's trio. Naoki smirked as he passed by in their wake.

"Why, I oughta‒!" Kinnosuke shook a fist then gestured to Dozo and Gintaro. "C'mon boys! We're following them!"

The unusual party entered the school building and ascended the stairs to the third years' level. As they split for their respective classes, Naoki clasped Kotoko's shoulder and spoke to her. "Good luck today. Remember what I told you." She nodded silently and joined Satomi and Jinko in the classroom.

* * *

Each class began with Kotoko bowing to the teacher and proffering her assignments. As Naoki had predicted, the teachers called on her more than usual. Even if she did not always answer correctly (especially the math problems), she proved that she had a more thorough knowledge of the subjects than had been perceived earlier.

 _"They're going to test if you actually learned the material or cheated. Of course, I don't know why they'd think I'd be a party to that, but there has been some buzz among the teachers since midterms. They'd rather believe you received illicit help than admit that you were assessed incorrectly or that their teaching methods are inferior."_

Kotoko hadn't quite believed him at the time, but his prophecy proved accurate throughout the day. By the final period, she had a hard time meeting the eyes of her classmates. They were looking at her as if she had sprouted an extra head, with the exception of Satomi and Jinko. Those two had developed the annoying habit of looking at each other with knowing eyes and nodding their heads with each academic feat Kotoko performed.

However, they assured her that the rest of the class would get used to it and come around. Sure enough, after a few days they became accustomed to the strange new semi-intelligent Kotoko, even asking her for help with puzzling portions of whatever subject they were in.

There was one exception‒Kinnosuke. Every time Kotoko was called on by the teacher or approached by another student, his brows would come together in disapproval. "What's happened to my sweet Kotoko? Has she turned into a mini-Irie?"

"Don't know, Boss," said Dozo, popping his gum. "But she sure has raised the class average though."

"Yeah," growled Kinnosuke, "and the curve is killing my scores! Hey, what's Gintaro doing over there?" The other member of their group was listening to Kotoko explain how Naoki had showed her to solve a particular equation. His normally blank eyes actually showed a glimmer of understanding. "He's deserted us!" raged Kinnosuke. "Dozo, don't you get any ideas like that, you hear?"

"I hear, Boss, I hear," he responded while thinking, _I'll just copy off Gintaro's paper later._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

"Aihara, do you have a few moments to spare after school?" Mr. Hakamada, her homeroom teacher, asked.

"Certainly," she replied, a trifle confused. "I'm not in trouble again, am I?"

"No, not at all. Perhaps quite the opposite. I'll see you later, then."

Kotoko looked at Satomi. "I wonder what that's about?"

* * *

"Aihara, your midterm results took all us teachers by surprise. We wondered a bit once we learned that you were staying with the Irie family, but the past few weeks have proven that you do seem to be performing at a higher level than your classmates."

Kotoko leaned forward anxiously. "You're not going to tell me that I have to move to another class, are you?"

"No, no," he assured her. "That would probably be counterproductive."

"Counter-what?" she asked.

"The stress of a new environment could totally derail your momentum, not to mention," he looked away, "your earlier encounter with members of another class."

"Yeah, that didn't go so well." Kotoko leaned back in relief, glad that the meeting had nothing to do with separating her from her friends.

"Anyway, all of your teachers are agreed that if you continue in this manner, we would recommend you to take the national placement test in January."

"M-me?" Kotoko pointed to herself. When he nodded, she added, "Irie-kun told me that I ought to think about it, but it seemed too far-fetched to imagine."

"I disagree with you. If you continue to improve, I believe it is definitely within your capabilities. However," he held up a warning finger, "you must not slack off. Your first challenge will be getting through the long break. We will be looking closely at your summer homework."

Kotoko grimaced. _Summer and homework. Two words that should never be in the same sentence._ "Well, Sensei," she rose and bowed, "I will do my best!"

* * *

She was surprised to see Satomi, Watanabe and Naoki sitting on a bench outside the school. "Wow, I thought you guys would've left ages ago!"

"No, we wanted to see what Old Fussbudget wanted," Satomi told her.

"And you even told _them_!" Kotoko gestured to the boys. When Satomi merely shrugged, Kotoko said, "Well, he just wanted to tell me that the teachers now believe I'm not cheating." Naoki laughed shortly. "And that they're thinking about recommending me for the big college placement test instead of just going to Tonan automatically."

"Ooh, Kotoko!" Satomi hugged her enthusiastically. "That's great! But," she pulled away pouting, "that means we won't be going to college together."

"Well, nothing's settled yet‒oof!" Kotoko was surprised when Watanabe placed an arm across her shoulder and pulled her close for a quick hug.

"Congratulations, Aihara-san." He grinned at her.

"Th-thank you, Watanabe-san!" she stammered, a little shocked at the sudden familiarity. She noticed that neither Naoki nor Satomi looked pleased at their closeness and wondered as she stepped away. "I guess I'll just have to…continue working hard!"

"Right!" Naoki's voice was clipped. "So let's head home and get started on it."

Startled by his abruptness, they all gathered their things and set out.

* * *

"Honestly, Jinko, I don't know how you talked me into this‒or how Kin-chan talked _you_ into it!" Satomi complained a few evenings later. She shot a glare in Kinnosuke's direction.

"C'mon, Satomi, aren't you interested in seeing where Kotoko lives?"

"We should wait until she invites us over," she advised her friend.

"And when would that be? She's busy with studying every afternoon after school until bedtime, and then Mrs Irie monopolizes her on the weekends. The poor overworked girl could use a little company."

"I just hope Watanabe-san doesn't hear about this," Satomi fretted to herself.

"What?" Jinko had sharp ears. "Don't tell me that you're mooning after that Class A friend of Irie-kun?"

"Mooning after?" Satomi laughed nervously. "I don't know what‒"

"Hey, you girls! Stop lagging behind!" Kinnosuke called back to them. "We're almost there!"

* * *

"What do you think Mr. Aihara will fix for dinner, Onii-chan?"

"I don't know. I'm more interested in what culinary disaster Kotoko is concocting." Based upon the frequent clatters from dropped utensils and the increasing frustration in her father's voice, it appeared that her skills were as nonexistent as she had claimed.

Their mother hustled through the living room. "I've decided that we're dining _al fresco_ tonight! Yuuki-kun, you go wipe off the patio table, and Onii-chan, you get the picnic dishes off the top shelf of the pantry."

"Is Kotoko's cooking that bad?" Yuuki muttered to his older brother.

Mr. Aihara stood at the head of the table, Kotoko, shoulders drooping, beside him. "This is just a small expression of my gratitude for your hospitality. I have prepared grilled fish, gyoza, tempura shrimp and vegetables, tonkatsu and cabbage, nasu dengaku, and kakuni, plus rice, of course."

"My, it all looks delicious, Ai-chan." Mr. Irie rubbed his hands together. Mrs. Irie beamed beside him.

"Hey, Kotoko," Naoki asked. "What dish did you prepare?"

She took a deep breath and pointed to a plate of unappetizing globs floating in some sort of liquid.

"What is it?" Yuuki asked, leaning closer.

"It's, uh, fried tofu," she admitted.

"Or was supposed to be!" Her father jumped in. "First she dropped some of the sauce in the batter, then she tried to cook it before the oil was hot enough. Don't feel like you have to try it." He lowered his head and shook it mournfully. "It's such a shame to a prideful chef to have a daughter so uncoordinated in the kitchen."

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Irie interposed. "I'm sure that anything Kotoko fixes will be delightful."

"No, Obasama," she pleaded. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Well," she sniffed, "it doesn't matter if you can cook or not. You and Onii-chan can live with us after you're married, and I'll prepare all the meals!"

"We're not getting marr‒Naoki-kun, what are you doing?!"

He paused. "I'm taking some of your dish." He spooned out a decent-sized helping and deposited a smaller amount on Yuuki's plate.

"Naoki-kun, you should really reconsider," Mr. Aihara begged. "I love my daughter, but‒Argh!" He placed a hand over his eyes. "Too late!"

Naoki's eyes watered but he chewed manfully and swallowed audibly. "That had an...interesting flavor. The texture was a little unexpected also." He turned to his dubious brother, who was holding a piece with chopsticks in front of his face. "Don't worry, Otouto, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger."

"No-o-o-o!" The Iries and Aiharas turned at the sudden commotion. Climbing over the back fence was Kinnosuke, and entering the yard after he unlatched the gate were Gintaro, Dozo, Jinko, and lastly, a flustered Satomi.

"Guys!" Kotoko called. "What a surprise! How did you know where I‒oh, yeah, Kin-chan," she added as she remembered.

"Kotoko-chan," Mrs. Irie stood behind her, hands on her shoulders, "are these your friends?"

"Obasama, I'd like you to meet my best friends, Satomi and Jinko." The girls bowed. "And those are some of my other classmates: Kin-chan, Gintaro and Dozo."

"Yeah," Kinnosuke speared his chest with a thumb, "me and Kotoko are very close, if you know what I mean."

"What _does_ he mean, Kotoko-chan?"

"He means‒that is, _I_ mean‒that I'm going to be Kotoko's special man and as such should be the only one to eat her _delicious_ cooking!"

Naoki and Yuuki looked at each other. Yuuki had managed to swallow his bite of tofu, washing it down with half a glass of juice. "Onii-chan," he whispered, "does he even know what that word means?"

"Well, considering that he is the poster child of Class F, I'd suspect not."

"Hey!" Kinnosuke pointed at them. "Stop makin' fun of me and hand over Kotoko's food."

"Sorry, Kotoko," Naoki winked at her, "but he insists."

She grimaced but did not respond since she and Mrs. Irie were busy setting places for Satomi and Jinko.

Kinnosuke, hugging the plate to his chest, added, "And you, Irie, stop calling Kotoko by her name. That's too familiar for the likes of you."

That was too much. "Who do you think you are, barging in like this and telling us what to do? You're the one who needs to leave Kotoko alone!" Yuuki stood and faced down the taller boy.

"Why‒why‒you Iries are all the same! I'll go now, but don't forget, I'm watching you!" As Kotoko, Naoki and Yuuki (and Mr. Aihara) looked on in surprise and horror, Kinnosuke tilted the plate and let all the tofu slide into his mouth before handing the dish to Mrs. Irie. "Lesh go, boysh!" he ordered his minions after wiping his mouth with his forearm.

"Huh?" "We're not getting any food?" the two protested. When Kinnosuke suddenly pounded his chest and leaned to the right, they added, "What's wrong, Boss?"

"Maybe it was something he ate," Naoki whispered to Yuuki.

Kinnosuke was absent from school the next day.

* * *

Naoki continued to teach Kotoko about a week ahead of the class. That way she was familiar with the material by the time the teacher presented it, and the repetition sealed the information in her memory. She tried to duplicate Naoki's feat with Satomi and Jinko when finals approached, but her efforts did not produce the same results.

"Summer school again!" groused Jinko as she scanned her grades.

"Me too!" added Satomi, "although I was a lot closer to passing, thanks to you, Kotoko!"

Kotoko's face had fallen. "I tried so hard! I guess I can knock 'teacher' off my list of potential careers."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **Premise: There is a strong battle of wills in the Irie household these days. A temporary resident, Aihara Kotoko, is a tomboy. She is not so brainy, but lots of fun. My mother, Irie Noriko, wants to turn her into a lady. My brother, Irie Naoki, wants to add "book smarts to street smarts" (whatever that means). My Summer Observation Diary will chronicle this "Clash of the Titans".**_

 _I wonder if that's too dramatic,_ Yuuki pondered after penning the introduction. _Nah,_ he concluded, _that's pretty much how it's going to go down._

* * *

"What are you doing outside my house?" Naoki asked Kinnosuke.

The other boy dropped a handful of pebbles and wiped palms on his slacks. "I'm here for Kotoko, not you, Irie!"

Naoki laughed. "You're wasting your time. She passed her classes‒unlike you!‒and doesn't have to go to review lessons."

"I know that." Kinnosuke scowled at him. "All thanks to your interfering ways!"

"What is wrong with your mind to conclude that improving her grades is a bad thing for Kotoko?"

"It's because _you're_ involved in it!" he expostulated. "And because it's separating us! Anyway, I just wanted to say good morning to her. Can you tell me which is her window?"

Naoki looked at the pebbles on the ground. "So you can throw rocks at my house? I think not. Besides," he began to walk away, "Kotoko's still in bed asleep."

Kinnosuke grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "How do you know that, pervert? Are you doing indecent things to her?"

Naoki shoved the hand aside with his tennis racquet. "What a fertile imagination you have. Number one, if Kotoko does not show up for breakfast, she is either asleep or sick. Number two, last night she announced that she was sleeping late on her first day of vacation and warned all of us not to disturb her." He chuckled. "Mother's chomping at the bit to take her shopping, so even _she_ is disappointed. It's time for you to move along now. I _know_ you don't want to be late to school."

Kinnosuke took note of Naoki's shorts, polo shirt and racquet. "You going to school, too, boy genius?"

"Yes," he frowned, "for tennis practice. But I'm not interested in walking there with you."

Kinnosuke jumped back as if stung. "What're you implying, you deviant?"

Naoki closed his eyes and shook his head. "Imagination again," he murmured as he walked away.

* * *

 _ **Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diar y**_

 _ **Day One was a win for Kotoko. She managed to have her way and spent the entire day doing what she wanted to do. I wish I had that kind of pull. Today's score: Kotoko-1, Mama-0, Onii-chan-0.**_

* * *

Kotoko knew that she was not going to get away with lazing about the entire summer, but she did not expect to be rousted from dreamland the second day by loud pounding on her bedroom door.

"Wha‒?" She sat up in bed, eyelids barely up. "Who is that? Stop it!" she yelled as she staggered to the door and flung it open. "Huh? Naoki-kun? What's the big damn idea?"

"Get dressed and be ready to go in forty-five minutes," he ordered.

"Do what?! Go where?"

"Tennis practice with me."

"But I don't play tennis!" she wailed.

He rested his arm on the door frame and looked down at her with an evil grin. "Would you rather stay home with Mother? She's down in the kitchen planning a shopping trip for matching aprons, to be topped off with a full round of cooking lessons."

Kotoko swallowed loudly. "Tennis it is, then."

* * *

Less than an hour later she was walking grumpily beside him. Mrs. Irie hadn't been too disappointed, especially since she was going to have "one-on-one tennis lessons(!)" with Naoki. She had even unearthed an old racquet of hers which Naoki had pronounced adequate after testing the strings.

"I don't know who is worse, you or Obasama," Kotoko groused.

Naoki chuckled. "Well, that's not quite true. I would think it's obvious considering which option you chose."

She poked him in the side with the racquet as if stabbing him with a spear. "I just didn't want to poison your entire family. You ought to be grateful to me and go easy today."

"Not a chance. Besides, a tomboy like you can't be bad at sports."

"Hmph! We were just a bunch of poor kids running wild, mostly playing soccer‒using our own rules, of course. Now, I wasn't bad at volleyball in middle school until everyone else outgrew me." She placed a hand on top of her head as if measuring herself. "Considering how tall Otosan is, Mom must have been a real shrimp if I'm this short."

"Well, height won't matter much in tennis," Naoki assured her. "Although shorter legs mean that you have to run faster."

"Run? You mean I have to run too?!"

* * *

After an easy (for Naoki) jog around the track, Kotoko pointed to the other players and panted, "Why‒gasp‒didn't you‒gasp‒want to‒gasp‒practice‒gasp‒with them?"

Naoki, leaning against a fence post to stretch his quads, turned to her. "I've been on the team with most of them for at least two years and know their every move. Practice with them is boring and meaningless, but Coach insists that I show up." He walked over and placed her in the proper position for the stretch. "I thought you'd add a little variety, but I didn't know that I was going to have to start from scratch."

"Too much trouble for you?" She tried once more to get out of it.

"No," he shook his head, "ever since you moved in, I find that I'm enjoying being challenged."

* * *

In the third floor classroom, Kinnosuke glanced out the window. "It's just those stuck up tennis players again. A whole team full of Iries…" He paused and moved his face nearer to the glass. "Who's that with him down there? Kotoko!" he shouted and plastered his hands on the window surface.

"Ikezawa! Sit down and pay attention!" The teacher's warning was ineffectual. Hearing the name of their classmate, the other students rushed to see what had caught Kinnosuke's attention.

"Look, Satomi!" Jinko pointed, "Kotoko and Irie-kun are going to play tennis together!"

"Looks more like playing around," her friend noted. "His arms are all over her."

"No!" Kinnosuke wailed, banging on the panes, rattling them.

"Oh, hush!" Satomi snapped at him. "I was just joking. He's showing her how to hold the racquet properly. Any idiot except _you_ could figure it out."

"Oh," Kinnosuke calmed down a little and his shoulders relaxed. "I still don't like him being that close to her, though."

Jinko snickered. "I bet Kotoko doesn't mind!"

"Any time you're ready, students. We're covering this material today, and as long as I have coffee, it doesn't matter to me how long we take."

"Yes, Sensei!" The students hurried back to their seats.

Unfortunately, having a desk next to the window did nothing for Kinnosuke's concentration. The rest of the class did their best to ignore his gasps, groans and teeth grinding for the next hour. As soon as break was called, he zipped out of the room.

Satomi and Jinko looked at each other. "Any bets on where he's going?" Satomi asked.

"Nah," replied Jinko. "Question is, do we want to watch it from up here or down there?"

After cocking her head in thought, Satomi answered, "Up here, I think. If we open the window we should be able to hear everything, plus we'll have a bird's eye view of the action."

* * *

Naoki leaned back against the fence, a cooling towel on his head, and let the madness roll over him.

"You lecherous bastard! You need to keep your filthy hands off Kotoko!"

"What are you going on about now, Kin-chan?" Kotoko sipped from a water bottle. "And where did you come from anyway?"

"I could see everything from up there! That man is shameless in his pursuit of you! You need to put some distance between yourselves!"

"Oh, that's our classroom!" Kotoko waved and called out, "Hi, Satomi, Jinko! How are the lessons?"

"Boring as usual," Satomi answered.

"Except for Kin-chan!" Jinko pantomimed peering through the window. "I don't think he's heard a third of what Sensei has said."

"You're a fine one to talk." Satomi elbowed her. "I saw your math scores, remember? I don't think you even know what a third is."

"Well, it's less than half, right?"

She sighed. "You have me there." She turned back to the tennis court. "Are you taking lessons from Irie-kun?" Kotoko nodded. "How's it going?"

Naoki opened one eye in time to see her give the answer as a big thumbs down. He laughed and called up to the Class F girls, "Maybe in about a week she'll be able to get the ball over the net!"

As the other girls huddled near Satomi and Jinko in the hope that Naoki would speak to them also, Kinnosuke resumed his tirade. "You need to take it easy on her! Can't you see that she's tired?"

"We're both tired," he replied flatly. "That's why we're taking a break. We're supposed to be relaxing, which this conversation _isn't_." Kotoko snapped her towel and popped him on the arm. "Ow!"

"Yeah, Kotoko, you just let him have what-for if he keeps persecuting you! I know you're independent and all, but don't forget that I'm here to protect you whenever you need it."

"Go back to class, Kin-chan," she ordered him. "Your break is about over and I only have a few minutes more in mine."

"Yeah, well, remember what I said!" he hollered as he made his way towards the school building.

And none too soon, as the teacher appeared in the window and yelled, "Ikezawa! Return now or I'll give you chores for detention!"

"Whew!" Kotoko flopped onto the ground next to Naoki. "That wore me out almost as bad as you making me run back and forth across the court."

"Protect you, eh?" Naoki laughed and rubbed the top of her head. "He sure has a short memory, doesn't he?"

"Huh?" She turned to him.

"The day after the earthquake‒you took him down in less than two minutes."

"Right. You were there." Kotoko took another swig. "Fun times."

Naoki removed his hand and stared at the sky. "He may underestimate you, but I stopped doing that a long time ago."

"Really?" she asked, eyes wide.

He turned to face her. "Really. That's how I know that you have two more hours worth of practice left in you."

"Argh!" she groaned.

"And then we can begin our summer homework after lunch."

"Maybe I should have stayed with Obasama and poisoned you, after all."

* * *

 _ **Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **Kotoko suffered some setbacks on Day Two. Onii-chan made her get out of bed early and practice tennis with him. However, he was not able to implement his summer homework project with her. Mama took Kotoko off for FOUR HOURS of clothes shopping, just for tennis outfits! Kotoko was not a happy camper. Today's score: Kotoko-0, Mama-1, Onii-chan-1 (I guess I'll give him credit for tennis, since Kotoko didn't want to do it.)**_


	15. Chapter 15

Kotoko tugged at the miniscule shorts under her brief tennis dress, squirming as she walked. "I can't believe that people actually play a sport in so little clothes. It's almost indecent. I'd feel half naked if I wasn't wearing my jacket."

"How about competitive swimmers?" Naoki asked off-handedly. He could certainly sympathize with her concern for modesty, since his mother had made her put on a fashion show last night of all five(!) outfits that she had purchased for her. For goodness' sake, he was only forcing her to do this for his own amusement, and perhaps to torment that pesky Class F lothario; there was no way that Kotoko had the makings of a professional or even collegiate level tennis player.

"Huh!" she snorted. "There's not much more material in this outfit than in my swimsuit. Your argument is invertical."

"Invalid," he automatically corrected, while his brain made a few lightning fast calculations. _If tennis outfit equals swimsuit, then she doesn't wear a two-piece…_ "Argh!" He banged himself on the head with his racquet. _My mind doesn't need to go there_ ‒ _!_

"You okay, Naoki-kun?" She was now in front of him, jogging backwards, a look of concern on her face.

"Sure," he managed. "My, uh, hand just slipped."

"Silly!" She turned and resumed walking next to him. "That's something like I'd do! By the way, do you know why Kin-chan is following us?"

"He is?" Of course, he had spotted him the minute he opened the gate but had pretended to be unaware.

"He's dashing from tree to tree, as if that would hide him!" She giggled as she glanced behind them unobtrusively. "Yep, still at it."

"Perhaps he's practicing to be a private detective," Naoki offered.

"Well, he did follow us home from school that day," she mused. "But he's going to have to take his studies more seriously if he wants to go to college for that."

Naoki stared at her. _Don't tell me that she took that ridiculous comment seriously!_

"Say!" She raised a finger. "You aren't picking on him for some reason, are you?"

"Me, picking on _him_?" He gave a short laugh. "He's the one who's quick with the insults and has even offered violence."

"You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. But it's interesting that we have to practice on the one court that can be seen from our classroom."

"Coincidence. That's all it is. Now," they scanned their train passes, "how do you think he's going to hide himself on public transportation?"

* * *

"We agreed on alternate afternoons! This makes two days in a row!"

"Yesterday we went clothes shopping for _your_ activity, so that doesn't count."

"Ridiculous! Keep me out of it. That was all you, indulging in more of your fantasies."

Mrs. Irie gave one of her annoying trills of laughter." Why, Onii-chan, one might think, as vehemently as you are arguing, that you want to spend as much time with Kotoko-chan as you possibly can!"

"Yes, I do!" he snapped.

His mother clasped her hands and leaned forward. "My prayers have been answered! I knew that you would see the light! Isn't she delightful? I wonder what the bridal colors should be?"

"Will you stop flying off on weird tangents?! I need to work with her on her summer homework. Her educational future is riding on it!"

"Pft! Nonsense! Her only future needs to be as a daughter of this house‒your wife!"

He sighed. "Haven't you ever heard of reverse psychology, Ma?"

Kotoko and Yuuki stopped peeking over the back of the couch, turned around and flopped back down, facing the correct direction. "Pocky?" She held the box out to him.

"Thanks. They sure are noisy, aren't they?"

"Yeah. But I think Naoki-kun is losing this round. I don't know why he's all obsessed with my summer homework. Usually I just do it the last two days of summer vacation."

"Last two‒?! But I thought you wanted to do better this time."

"Sure I do. But why do I have to start the very first week?" The last few words were drawn out in a whine.

A hand reached over and plucked a stick from her box. "Because I want you to do it correctly. In order to do that, you need to understand it. In order for you to understand it, I'm going to have to teach you. Any more questions?"

She tilted her head back and looked up at him, saluting. "No, general!"

"Yuck!" He made a face after swallowing. "How can you eat this junk food?"

"A better question is, how can you eat my cooking? So what did you and Obasama decide?"

"She has you today," he ground out through gritted teeth. "From here on we're alternating Monday through Friday, and you're free to choose your own activities Saturday and Sunday."

"Generous of you," she muttered. "So what is Prisoner 24601 doing this afternoon?"

"I believe it's pastry decoration."

* * *

 _ **Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **There were fireworks on Day Three. Onii-chan and Mama had a big argument and finally decided who was getting Kotoko when. (Kotoko had no say in the matter.) Mama thought she was gaining an advantage by getting her two days in a row, but Kotoko really sucks at frosting cakes. It tasted all right, since Mama mixed it up, but I almost had to close my eyes to eat it. Onii-chan wouldn't take any. Of course, he doesn't like sweets that much, but he probably would have tried it for Kotoko's sake if he hadn't still been mad at Mama. Today's score: Kotoko-1, Mama-0, Onii-chan-0. (Onii-chan doesn't get any more points for tennis; Kotoko says that it's not that bad, even if she is. She's funny.)**_


	16. Chapter 16

"My summer has been absolutely destroyed!" Kotoko moaned dramatically, stretched out on the floor of her room. "Every morning I'm awakened at oh-dark-thirty by the king sadist and forced to return to the same school that summer vacation is supposed to spare me!"

"But while you're going to _the_ school, you're not going to _school_ ," Yuuki commented from behind a book.

"You have a point." She sat up and raised a finger. "Plus, I'm improving at tennis! I got the ball over the net six times today!"

He snickered. "Yeah, and Onii-chan said none of them were in bounds."

"Well, at least it's progress," she pouted. "But in the afternoons, when I'm not being the plaything of your mother, it's work, work, work! It's not fa-a-a-air!"

"Kotoko, haven't you noticed yet that Onii-chan isn't affected by your whining?" he asked her.

She grinned at him. "Yes, he is. He gets a little crease, right here," she pointed to her forehead, "and his left eyelid twitches if I do it too long."

"And your griping limit has been reached for the day." Naoki walked in with fresh printouts. "We're covering the English irregular verb 'to be' this afternoon."

"Aargh!" Kotoko howled. "I would like 'to be' anywhere but here! Is that good enough studying for you?"

"No." He flicked her forehead. "Using the infinitive doesn't count." He turned to his brother. "Yuuki, you might as well listen in. You'll be getting this soon in school and you'd be ahead of the game if you already know it."

"Game!" Kotoko sighed deeply. "That's what I'd really rather be doing this summer. Playing video games."

"And that's also why you slept through my welcoming speech two years ago." Naoki handed her a worksheet, unaffected by her theatrics.

"I thought you forgave me for that," she muttered as she began filling in the blanks.

He watched her for a few minutes. "Why don't you stimulate yourself by using the reward system?"

"Hm? 'I am, you are, he is, she is…' What do you mean?"

"Finish quickly, then you'll have time to play your game or do whatever else you consider 'fun'."

"That'd work just fine except my PS4 got smashed in the earthquake. Why is there a verb form that's the same for all plural plus one singular?"

"You must be thinking of 'are'. Just memorize it. Sometimes English makes no sense."

"You can say that again," she mumbled, hunched over the paper once more.

"Sometimes English makes no sense." Yuuki obediently repeated as he concentrated on his own worksheet. Simultaneously Kotoko poked him in the upper arm and Naoki swatted his head. "Hey! So, Kotoko, why don't you just buy a new game system?"

"Don't have enough allowance saved," she answered, "and I don't want to bug Otosan for it, since he's having to pay for repairs to the house. There! Finished!" She handed the sheet to Naoki with a flourish. As he looked it over, she continued to talk, by now knowing well that he could process two tasks at once. "It really bites, because all of my games were still packed safely in a box, since we had just moved in. I had hooked up the system to the television right before my friends came over. And then while they were there, the house went 'boom!'"

"That's a shame," he sympathized. "You did well on the worksheet. Now," he pulled out another piece of paper, "here are the next vocabulary words."

"Can they at least be _useful_ words in English?" she complained.

* * *

Two days later, after finishing the 'Irie Naoki Summer School' session, as she had dubbed it, Naoki casually commented, "By the way, Kotoko, Dad's office had a display model of a PS4 that they weren't using. I borrowed it and set it up in the den yesterday afternoon."

"So that's where you went!" she exclaimed. "I figured you just wanted to escape the fumes of my latest cooking disaster."

"You're getting a little better, Kotoko." He grinned. "I can almost identify what I'm eating now."

She pounded a fist into his shoulder. "I'd punish you for that except that you're actually correct. Let me get my games!"

The two boys sat on either side of Kotoko as she fanned out her disks on the coffee table. "Don't you have anything but violent games?" Naoki asked.

She raised both eyebrows. "Do you really think a group of boys would want to play Cardcaptor Sakura?"

"Does that actually exist?" Yuuki asked. Naoki shrugged.

Kotoko pulled one case out. "This is what I was playing the night before my high school debut. That was the last time our group all managed to get together."

"You haven't kept up with them?" Naoki asked.

"Only some. We all went to different high schools. Let's see, one moved back to Hokkaido with his father when he opened a restaurant there and is already an apprentice with him. One is a nationally ranked soccer player."

"Wow!" Yuuki appeared impressed.

"Yeah!" Kotoko pointed to her chin. "One of his kicks gave me this scar. Maybe someday I'll have him autograph it."

Naoki looked closely. "You were lucky. It's not that noticeable."

"Hey, life happens." Kotoko shrugged it off.

"How about the others?"

"I've lost track of two of them, but one‒get this‒is now the 'Prince' of his school." She laughed. "He used to be shorter than me! A few years can sure make a difference! Hey, Yuuki-kun!" she called. "Is that what you want to play?"

"Call of Duty?" Naoki was skeptical. "Isn't it too bloody?"

"Nah! He'll be fine."

"Right. That's what you were dreaming of at the ceremony. If Yuuki has nightmares, we're switching rooms so you can deal with him."

"Ha! If you tried to sleep in all that pink, you'd be the one with nightmares! Here," she handed him a controller, "you take this one and I'll help Yuuki-kun until he gets the hang of it."

"I thought this was what _you_ wanted to do."

"Yeah, but it'll be more fun if I can teach you guys to be a little competition for me. Hey!" she elbowed him, "this is like tennis lessons in reverse!"

* * *

Three hours after dinner Kotoko remained undefeated, even with the handicap of having to stretch her arms around a sleeping Yuuki in front of her. The parents had long since retired for the evening; Mrs. Irie, of course, had to memorialize the game play with her camera before heading upstairs.

"That does it for me tonight," Naoki declared as he set down the controller.

"You Irie boys are weak as shit," she said, placing an arm around Yuuki so he wouldn't fall over as she turned off the game with the remote. "So much for superior intellect."

"Everything takes practice," Naoki argued. "Here, let me have him. I'll put him to bed."

Kotoko turned and kissed Yuuki's sleeping cheek. "Poor boy! Either your lessons or the game was too much for him."

"No, it's just past his bedtime." He hoisted him over his shoulder and Kotoko leaned forward to replace the disk in the case.

"I'll pick up in here and turn out the light," she told him.

She hummed as she repacked her games. Life was going to be more fun now that she had her own pastime back. _I suppose I'll have to limit it, though, since I've got all these extra activities to compete with it. But still_ ‒ _!_ She closed her eyes and sighed with delight, hugging the box of game disks.

As she turned at the door, hand on the light switch, a blob of white caught her eye under the couch. "What's this?" She bent down and retrieved a chunk of styrofoam. "How did you get here? Well, it's off to the trash you go!"

Kotoko opened the side door where the trash and recycle bins were kept. "Wait, are you recyclable?" She opened the bin to check what types of items were inside and saw a collapsed box for a PS4 plus a large shopping bag from a major toy store. "I thought Naoki-kun said that it was a display model. Don't tell me he bought one just for my games?" She smiled to herself, enjoying the tingle of pleasure that the thought gave her.

* * *

"Mmm? Onii-chan? Did I finally win?" Yuuki asked sleepily.

"You sure did," Naoki answered as he wrestled the pajama top over his head. "Sleep well, Otouto, and no bad dreams!" He ran his thumb over the spot on his brother's cheek where Kotoko had kissed him then brought it to his mouth. _Strawberry_ , he thought. _The same flavor as she was wearing in the nurse's office when_ ‒ He pounded the side of his head. Why, oh why was he doing this to himself?

* * *

 _ **Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **Day Fourteen (but written on Day Fifteen because Onii-chan, Kotoko and I stayed up late). Onii-chan brought a demonstration PS4 from the Pandai office. Which is strange because I don't ever remember seeing one there and I've visited lots of times. Anyway, we had the best time playing Kotoko's games. If I had a big sister, I'd want one just like her. Today's score: Kotoko-1, Mama-0, Onii-chan-1. (Kotoko's point is for her awesome game-playing skills and Onii-chan's because she memorized irregular verb tenses in a reasonable amount of time.)**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **Day Twenty Nine. Had a break from the same-old, same-old. Onii-chan took the day off from tennis instruction since he got in late from a tournament yesterday (won it, of course!). He probably wasn't ready to drop down to Kotoko's level quite so soon. She is still erratic at tennis, but it's even worse now that she's stronger. Onii-chan complains that she spends more time off the court looking for wild balls than she does actually playing. Mama is beginning to look a little tired. We almost thought we'd need the fire department this afternoon. No points for anyone but Kotoko today.**_

 _ **Tomorrow I'm going to Wonder Water Park with her and her Class F girlfriends to see how her behavior compares with other girls.**_

* * *

"Yo, Kotoko! Over here!" Jinko, standing next to a sunglasses-wearing Satomi, waved energetically at her friend.

"Did Kotoko mention that she was bringing along Irie, Jr.?"

"No, but it's no prob, right?"

"Well, since we got premium passes from Mr. Irie and Pandai, we really shouldn't complain about an afternoon of babysitting."

"Now if only big brother would show up…"

"Dream on."

* * *

The three girls talked nonstop on the train ride to the pool. Yuuki chose to remain silent for the most part, watching them carefully.

"So, Kotoko, are you still trying to learn how to play tennis?"

"I'll have you know that I can serve and return now," she declared. "And Yuuki-kun, no controversing me with talk of boundary lines."

Yuuki smirked and limited himself to one word. "Contradicting."

"What about the Mrs. Irie lessons?"

"Well, I found out that if I'm running behind, I can't bake a cake quicker by raising the oven temperature."

"That lady must have nerves of steel and unlimited patience to take you on!" Satomi commented.

"So, when are we getting together to do summer homework?" asked Jinko.

"Mine's already done," Kotoko informed them.

Jinko stared at her in disbelief. "Get back! No, wait," she waved a hand, "don't tell me that you copied Irie-kun's?!"

"Not a bit. He would teach me the subject for _hours_ before letting me write in my booklet. Then he'd check it over with a magnifying glass. But, it's all done now!" she smiled in satisfaction.

"That must be a relief for you. Then you're finished with 'Irie School'?"

"No." Kotoko's mouth quirked. "I'm taking practice college tests now."

"What!?" "Already?"

She nodded. "Naoki-kun is making a list of colleges that will accept me without a second test based on my projected scores."

"Huh!" Jinko grunted. "I wish we had someone that dedicated in our guidance department. You know, my brother told me that Tonan pretty much gives up on Class F students going to college and only posts job applications on the board outside _our_ classroom."

"That's unfair!" Kotoko declared. "Lots of people don't make it into college on the first try."

"Pretty insulting," Satomi agreed, "but each year the class lives down to their expectations. At least we have you this year to show them up."

Kotoko paled. "I don't know that I want all that attention."

"Too late." Jinko snickered. "Well, here's our stop!"

The group collected their bags and disembarked. "Oof!" Kotoko, following with Yuuki behind the other two, ran into Jinko's back when they neared the park entrance.

"Who informed those bakas that we were coming here today?" Satomi hissed.

"You'd think Kin-chan had wire-tapped our phones!" agreed Jinko.

Yuuki looked from the girls to the teenagers across the street, one of whom was jumping up and down and waving wildly. "You can't really wiretap a wireless phone," he gestured with his head at the ones waiting, "and I know none of those three stooges have the brains to hack a cell tower." He squared his narrow shoulders and marched up to them. "Are you guys stalkers or _what_?"

Kinnosuke leaned back in laughter. "Hoo! Listen to the little Irie!" He slapped Yuuki on the shoulder with masculine jocularity while his companions brayed along with their leader. "I'm just following my heart. You know you stole it two years ago, Kotoko!"

"Gag me with a spoon!" Jinko expostulated.

"Let's go inside, Yuuki-kun." Kotoko frowned as they circled the group and presented their tickets.

"Wait! Don't leave us behind!" The boys scrambled to catch up.

* * *

"Your sunscreen's all applied, Yuuki-kun." Kotoko patted his shoulder. "Now that I've taken care of Obasama's instructions, it's time for some fun in the sun!" She stood and peeled off her sundress.

Satomi expressed her displeasure. "I thought I told you to buy a bikini, Kotoko!" She had already arrayed herself on a lounger, her blindingly white two-piece visible from across the park.

"Nah, I'd be too afraid something would come loose when I move around in the water." She turned and showed off the racer back of the sleek maillot. "No danger of that with this one!"

"I suppose it's just as well," Satomi reluctantly conceded, looking over at the not-so-subtle leer on Kinnosuke's face. "That guy doesn't need any more fuel for his twisted fantasies!"

"What does she mean?" asked Yuuki.

"Never mind." Kotoko managed a smile. "Let's see if this place lives up to its hype!"

* * *

No matter where Jinko, Kotoko and Yuuki went, the Kinnosuke gang followed them. (Satomi, preferring a more sedentary type of entertainment, remained beside the pool to watch their bags‒and the lifeguards.) When they spiraled down the Cyclone of Death, they were on the raft right behind them. Floating on the lazy river, their inner tubes were constantly jostled and shoved by the others. And if they had not already joined an almost full tub on the whitewater ride, Kinnosuke and his lackeys would have crowded in as well.

They even tagged along when the girls and Yuuki rejoined Satomi for lunch. "I promise, I didn't prepare any of the food!" Kotoko swore. Luckily Mrs. Irie had packed an ample amount, since the boys cadged at least half the contents.

"C'mon, guys," Kinnosuke cajoled, "you've been ignoring us all morning! Play around some!"

"He just can't take a hint, can he?" complained Jinko.

"Well, we do have to take it easy for a while," Kotoko said. "How about we toss around the beach ball?"

Even Satomi roused from her reclining position and joined them in the water. They formed a rough circle, with Yuuki sitting on the pool edge. "Just be careful," Kotoko warned. "It's over your head right here!"

The ball was tossed around gently until it landed in Kotoko's hands. She shot it immediately to Yuuki, who then bounced it hard off Kinnosuke's head.

"Hey!" he yowled and looked menacingly at the boy, who gave him an innocent look but proceeded to repeat the action the next two times the ball was in his possession. After the third hit, Kinnosuke made as if to storm over to the side of the pool. "You troublesome little brat!"

"Cool it, Kin-chan!" Jinko admonished.

"Yeah, Kin-san," Dozo reminded him. "It's just Irie's little brother, not Irie himself."

Still muttering imprecations, Kinnosuke retrieved the ball and instead of launching it at one of the girls, fired it straight back at Yuuki. It bounced off his chest and plopped into the water.

"Look out, Yuuki-kun!" Kotoko cried as he wobbled.

He shot her a grin. "Don't worry, Kotoko, I've got this!" He reached forward for the ball, completely lost his balance and fell in.

"See what you did!" Satomi yelled at Kinnosuke.

"Who's the brat now?" snarled Jinko.

Even his pals were looking at him disapprovingly as Kotoko made her way to Yuuki's side. With his lungs half-full of water, he was in full panic mode. "Easy there, Yuuki-kun!" She tried to soothe him, but in frenzied desperation he clawed at her, impeding her rescue attempt. She actually fell under the surface herself until she managed to balance his weight and slosh to the side. Dozo and Gintaro helped her heave him over the side of the pool, and she jumped up and began to administer first aid.

"Get the water out, get the water out," she urged as she held him on his side. She kept an arm around him while he retched miserably. When that unpleasant task was over, Satomi handed her a towel and she wrapped it around him. "There, there," she crooned, cuddling him.

* * *

"Thanks for inviting me to the water park," Watanabe said shortly after he and Naoki cleared the turnstile.

"No problem," he replied. "Mom wanted everyone out of the house. She's having to air it after Kotoko's latest culinary masterpiece."

He laughed. "It's too bad that Aihara couldn't make it. But then, being new to having a sister around, you probably needed some time away."

"Kotoko?" Naoki's eyes widened. " _Sister_?"

Watanabe continued. "I'm ashamed to say that I'm almost glad for the earthquake. If she hadn't started to live with you, I might have never noticed her."

"Uh, yeah." Naoki wasn't sure where to look. _Watanabe...and Kotoko?!_ Somehow the day's brilliance dimmed a little.

"Say, isn't that Aihara's tall friend over there?" Naoki turned and shaded his eyes. "You can't miss her‒the one in the white bikini."

"Yes, I see‒" Suddenly Naoki took off in a run, despite the numerous signs forbidding it and one of the lifeguards shouting at him. He pushed himself between Satomi and Gintaro and knelt in front of Kotoko and his brother.

"Yuuki! What happened?" he asked Kotoko.

"He fell in the deep end and swallowed some water," she explained.

"Weren't you watching him?" he snapped, fear having overridden his usual calmness.

"Don't yell at Kotoko!" Kinnosuke bellowed. Satomi and Jinko glared him into a rebellious silence.

"It happened so quickly…" Kotoko began.

"No, Onii-chan!" Yuuki croaked out. "An accident! Not her fault!"

Naoki closed his eyes and took two deep breaths. "I apologize," he said, touching a hand to her face. "I was just... terrified."

She let out a laugh. "You and me both! But he's all right now!" she proclaimed as she gave him an extra squeeze.

"Here, he must be heavy," Naoki said. "Come on, Yuuki, let me hold you so Kotoko can get up."

"No!" Yuuki protested, grabbing hold of Kotoko tightly, "I want to stay with Onee-chan!"

Startled at the name Yuuki used, Naoki paused then replied, "Okay with you, Kotoko?" She nodded, beaming.

Meanwhile, Kinnosuke hopped from one foot to the other, biting his towel in frustration. "Why does that dratted brat get to sit so close to her?! Do you see where he's resting his head?! I wish it was me!"

Satomi stared at him in disbelief. "Do you really think she'd want you nearby after what you did?"

"You heard the kid!" he protested. "It was an accident!"

Jinko snorted. "You better keep your distance for awhile. If Irie-kun heard how mean you were to his little brother…"

"My hearing is just fine, Komori-san," Naoki spoke up, now sitting at Kotoko's side. "I'll settle up with Ikezawa later, once I get the full story. Right now I'm interested in my brother's condition."

"Told ya!" Jinko taunted.

"Come on, Kin-san," Dozo urged. "Let's go ride that tornado thing again." He and Gintaro dragged the fussing teen away.

Naoki tilted his head back after the disruptive influence had departed. "Your hair's coming undone."

"Yeah," Kotoko replied softly. "Yuuki was pretty scared and grabbed onto anything he could. I think I lost one of my hair ties in the pool."

Watanabe, a silent witness to the tableau, looked over the edge into the water. "I'll get it." He took off his shirt and glasses and handed them to Satomi. "Hold this for me?" He quickly dove in and returned in no time, effortlessly lifting himself out of the pool. He tossed his head to get rid of water trapped in his curls before handing the loop to Naoki. He quirked an eyebrow as he said, "So, _not_ a sister?"

Jinko, jaw dropped, stared at the chiseled abs on his lean torso. "Damn, Satomi! I get what you see in him now!"

Satomi fanned herself with her free hand. "Shall I say‒'Irie-kun _who_?'"

Naoki scooted behind Kotoko and undid her other, semi-intact pigtail. "How was it?" he asked. "Tuesday or Thursday?"

"What do you mean?" she queried.

"Monday is loose with a headband, Tuesday is low braided pigtails, Wednesday is side ponytail, Thursday is high pigtails, usually looped, and Friday is a ponytail, with weekends some variations of the above. Summer has been a little more unpredictable."

Kotoko had a horrified face. "I'm not _that_ stuck in a rut, am I? But wait!" she pointed out, "I shouldn't argue with Mr. Perfect Irie."

"Darn straight," he whispered in her ear with a grin.

Watanabe shrugged and sighed then turned to the two hovering girls. "So, ladies, what are the hot spots in this park?" For some reason the pool lounger lost its appeal to Satomi.

* * *

"You know," Kotoko said as the entire party prepared to leave, "my house is just a few blocks away from the next train station. I think I'd like to drop by and see how the repairs are coming."

"Yeah!" agreed Jinko. "It's been a few months. They should have made pretty good progress on it."

Watanabe declined to join the group. Although Dozo and Gintaro argued briefly, Kinnosuke himself stubbornly refused to make an exodus from the party. "I can't leave now! Kotoko'll be totally in his power! Look at him using his little brother to weasel his way into her affections." He beetled his brows at Satomi and Jinko. "And those friends of hers are aiding and abetting him all the way. Traitors to Class F!"

Gintaro shook his head. "I never thought I'd say this, but you've got a screw loose, Boss."

"She's living with his family, for cripe's sake! What're a few minutes more going to matter?"

"Those few minutes might make all the difference!" Kinnosuke insisted. "I'm not leaving her alone with him!"

"She's not alone," Dozo said in an aggrieved tone.

"But you are, Boss," Gintaro stated. "We got our part time jobs to get to tonight. There're only a few more days before school starts to earn good money!"

"Go then, if that's how you feel!" Kinnosuke stuck his nose in the air and turned his head as they departed. Since the other group had left while he was squabbling with his friends, he had to scamper after them to catch up.

* * *

"What in the world is going on?" Kotoko stared at her erstwhile home in dismay, mouth open.

Satomi and Jinko were much the same, while Kinnosuke stood scratching his head and counting on his fingers. Naoki showed no emotion, but that could have been because he had the extra load of Yuuki on his back, who was totally exhausted from the unexpected exertions of the day.

"It doesn't look like much of anything has been done," observed Satomi. Sure enough, while the frame had been rebuilt, the walls were missing and several of the roof tarps had torn loose and flapped in the afternoon breeze.

"At this rate you'll be living with the Iries all the way into next year," Jinko surmised.

"No-o-o-o!" cried Kinnosuke.

"Hush!" The girls scolded him in chorus. "You'll wake up Yuuki-kun!"

"But she'll be trapped in that horrible Irie house that much longer!" he wailed in a lower voice.

"I'm going to check with Otosan as soon as I see him!" declared Kotoko. "The workers must be slacking off or something."

"Whatever's going on, you know you and your dad are welcome to keep living with us, Kotoko," Naoki assured her, enjoying the additional benefit of watching the resident ape almost wet himself to keep from shouting his aggravation.

He was heard to mutter, right before he stomped off, "Damn Irie bastards! Both of 'em!"

* * *

 _ **Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **Day Thirty: It's a good thing I went. That dork who ate all of Kotoko's awful fried tofu showed up with his idiot pals. I'm not saying he was mean to me, but he didn't like Kotoko not playing with him. Onii-chan showed up later in the day, and I don't remember much after that. I'm just going to give Kotoko 5 points for today, no particular reason.**_


	18. Chapter 18

"Don't forget to take your vitamins while you're gone, Papa!"

"Yes, Mama. Did you remember to pack my yearbook?"

Mrs. Irie sniffed. "So you can use it to identify your old girlfriends?"

"Now, now, you know that's not why‒"

She smiled and hugged her husband. "I know, dear. It's in the large outside zipper pocket of your bag. You two can look at it on the train ride."

"Otosan! Have you called the builders yet?"

"Kotoko, why are you bothering me with this now?" He turned to his daughter after stowing a suitcase in the taxicab's trunk. "You know that Iri-chan and I have a train to catch!"

The fathers had been looking forward to their class reunion for several weeks. The past two days they had giggled together like teenage girls over the schedule.

"Right, right." Kotoko kept to the topic stubbornly. "You promised that you would and you never did! We can't keep imposing on the Iries."

"I will, I will," her father assured her, refusing to meet her eyes as he patted her shoulder clumsily. "I'll get on it as soon as we return."

She glared at him. "You'd better."

"Now, Kotoko-chan, don't let a frowny face be the last thing your father sees before he leaves. Give him a big smile!" Mrs. Irie pressed her index fingers into Kotoko's cheeks and stretched out her mouth.

"I don't know, Mama," Yuuki said thoughtfully. "I think that expression would scare him so much that he wouldn't come home!" He easily avoided the fist Kotoko playfully swung in his direction.

Finally the two men were waved off and the remainder of the family entered the house.

Kotoko sighed. "It's the last two days before school starts again. I hope my brain doesn't leak from all that information you shoved in it this summer."

"I doubt that," Naoki chuckled.

"Yeah!" Yuuki chimed in. "That would attract zombies."

"Hey!" Kotoko's face lit up. "You want to play‒" She grew silent in courtesy when the phone rang.

"Hello. Yes? Oh my." Mrs. Irie's face took on a worried look. "Oh dear. Yes, I understand." She hung up and turned to the children. "There's an emergency. My mother has taken ill‒although it doesn't seem to be too serious."

"Gramma?" asked Yuuki.

"Yes, and she's in that house of hers all alone." She widened her eyes and blinked, as if trying to keep tears at bay. Kotoko took her hand and patted it. "She wants me to come stay with her, but your father just left‒" She suddenly clapped her hands. "I know! I'll take Yuuki-kun with me. I'm sure I can trust you two to watch over the house while we're gone! Let me go upstairs and pack quickly!" She sped from the room before anyone could get another word out.

"Do you think Gramma will be okay, Onii-chan?" asked Yuuki.

Naoki, eyes narrowed, replied, "I think she'll be just fine. As a matter of fact, she'd likely be surprised to discover that she's under the weather."

"What?"

"Never mind," he assured his brother. "You enjoy your time with Mom."

* * *

"Wow. It doesn't take Obasama long to pack," Kotoko commented a scant ten minutes later as they waved goodbye to the taxi.

"She probably packed last night when she was taking care of Dad's suitcase. And I bet she scheduled her ride then also."

Kotoko stared at him. "But, how would she know her mother would get sick?"

He elbowed her gently. "It's all a plot to get us alone together. So we can make grandbabies, remember?"

She laughed. "You're kidding! I guess I'd better get that pink feathery thing out of the closet then."

Naoki shuddered in mock horror. "Now _that_ would make excellent birth control. But seriously, this is a great opportunity." Kotoko looked at him quizzically. "I've narrowed down your potential colleges to the three best. We can travel and get a first-hand look at them while Mom's too far away to interfere."

"What about watching over the house?"

He snorted. "We have a state-of-the-art alarm system. Plus, we'll be back each evening."

"Okay. But how about train schedules and directions?"

He banged her gently on top of the head with a fist. "Do you want to do this or not?'

"Yes!" she replied.

"Then don't worry. You know me‒I'll have the details ready in five minutes. Take that time to pack a day bag. We should be back before dark."

* * *

Sure enough, it was still light outside when Naoki unlocked the front door and they trudged into the house. "Drat! We should have stopped to get takeout for dinner," he said.

"Maybe Obasama left something in the refrigerator that we could heat up," Kotoko suggested.

Alas! There was nothing prepared. "Well," Naoki began, hands on hips, "what is your most reliable skill in the kitchen?"

"I can operate the rice steamer!" She hopped several times, raising her hand as if she was in class.

He laughed. "Then you're in charge of that. I'll sauté some meat and veggies. We shouldn't stay up much after eating, because tomorrow is going to be even longer."

Kotoko paused in measuring the water. "I think you said we're going to two schools then?"

"Yes," he answered while slicing and dicing, "we'll first visit the one that I think is actually best. It's in Kobe and is, of the three, the farthest distance from home. The other one isn't much out of our way on the return trip."

"Tell me about the top choice." She jumped a couple of times until Naoki reached over her head and handed her the rice canister. She grinned her thanks before proceeding to fill the steamer.

"Well, it has a good basic program with a number of departmental colleges, plus an international exchange component. Unless you choose an extremely esoteric profession, I don't think you'll have to transfer."

"And I won't have to take a second test?" She didn't want any unpleasant surprises.

"No. This school is following the trend of American colleges, relying also on interviews and recommendations. At the most you might have to write an essay, but I can help you with that if it comes to pass."

"Yeah. I sure will miss all your help when you're breathing the rarefied air at Todai."

Naoki watched her crouch down and stare at the steamer as if to make the rice cook faster until the sizzle of the oil informed him that his pan was ready. As he stirred the meat and seasoned it, his mind played back the description of the college that he had recommended to Kotoko.

* * *

The next day indeed was long. Kotoko's enthusiasm over the university in Kobe caused her to explore every path and building on the campus. She filled her backpack with literature of all the disciplines and argued that they didn't even need to make the second stop. Naoki had insisted, but it was obvious that her decision had already been made. As she leaned against him on the train, lightly snoring, he quietly perused the documents that he had picked up for himself at the Kobe school.

It was well after sunset as they made their way home. That is, as Naoki made his way home with Kotoko on his back. He found that was easier than trying to guide the somnolent girl in a straight line.

"Mm, Naoki-kun?" she murmured softly.

"Yes?"

She stirred and he tightened his grip on her legs. "Thank you for today."

"You're welcome, Kotoko."

"Mm, Naoki-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Did you buy that PS4 for me?"

He shivered as her breath stirred his hair. "Um, how did you know?"

She shifted her weight again. "Found the box in the recy...recy…" She was nodding off again.

"Recycler?" He finished the word for her.

"Mm-hm. Thank you, Naoki-kun."

He swore that he felt her lips on his neck. _Damn! How much farther?_ he thought as beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead.

* * *

 _ **Excerpt from Irie Yuuki's Summer Observation Diary**_

 _ **Day Forty (Final Entry): Right after Daddy and Mr. Aihara left, Mama faked a call from Gramma and took me on a trip to an onsen. It was a scheme to get Onii-chan and Kotoko alone together. I know Mama wants them to get married, but her tactics just make Onii-chan mad. But I don't think it would be too bad if Kotoko was my sister for real.**_


	19. Chapter 19

"This really bugs me."

"Ugh! I know. Your brother was right."

Kotoko and Jinko were eyeing the job wanted notices that had suddenly blossomed on the Class F bulletin board.

Satomi joined them. "I just double-checked. It's only us for sure!"

"And right after giving us that career packet. Good job on destroying our dreams of success!"

"To be fair, Sensei did warn us…"

" _I know many of you think advancement to college is automatic because we are attached to a university, but let me be honest, we do have a cut-off point. So consider carefully, my dear Class F students: college is not the only option. Stepping out and entering society ahead of everyone else is simply another path in life."_

Satomi pouted. "I know that Kotoko has nothing to worry about, but what about the rest of us?"

"Yeah, Kotoko." Jinko turned to her. "I hear you don't want to attend Tonan University. What are you planning to do?"

"She can marry me!"

Kotoko closed her eyes at Kinnosuke's shout. It became even louder when Satomi and Jinko began berating him. "Go away, baka!" "Where did that come from?"

He shook off their scolds. "I've come up with the perfect plan, Kotoko! You won't have to worry about going to college, plus it'll get you out of that stinkin' Irie house. We'll just tie the knot and live together!"

"Live on what?" Jinko sneered. "You don't even have a job!"

"And you're not understanding something. It's not that Kotoko _can't_ get into college here, it's that she has another plan. Right, Kotoko? Kotoko?"

The object of their conversation had walked away and was looking out the wide window on the side of the breezeway that overlooked the tennis courts. At the place where she and Naoki had spent so many hours in the summer, two figures‒a boy and a girl‒could be seen. By the time the others joined her, no one was there and her face was blank. When she noticed that she was no longer alone, she came to herself with a jerk. "Oh, yes! I've got to see Sensei about something!"

* * *

"Was that the third one today?" Watanabe asked after his friend re-entered the classroom soberly.

"Yes," Naoki replied tersely. "What is going on? Usually I only have to deal with this at the beginning of the school year."

Laughing, he exclaimed, "You must be the only male in this high school who complains when he receives love confessions!" He received a scowl as a response. "Were you at least polite this time?"

"Why should I be polite? Besides being a waste of the school day, it's frustrating because I don't know why this ridiculous activity is out of season."

Watanabe cleared his throat. "After you and Aihara became friends, you, ah, 'loosened up', so to speak."

"That's not much of an explanation."

"Well, you're seen as more...approachable."

Naoki grumpily opened his textbook. "That's a relationship between Kotoko and me. Why are they extrapolating it to themselves?"

"Are you really asking me to decipher the female brain?" After a pause, he continued. "Have you at least noticed that the Class B girls are not participating in the 'Irie Dating Game'?"

"Please don't call it that." He suddenly slammed the book shut. "Do you think boys have been pestering Kotoko the way girls have been bothering me?" Watanabe stared at him as if horns had sprouted from his head. "What does that look mean?"

He grinned. "Number one: unlike you, Aihara has never been unapproachable." Naoki nodded in agreement. "Number two: most guys probably feel like they'll have too much competition if they go after her."

Naoki snorted. "Yeah, that Ikezawa idiot sticks to her like glue."

Watanabe observed him expressionlessly. "Ikezawa. Right. That must be it."

* * *

The fall semester's trips to school continued the less restrictive trend that had begun after Kotoko's suspension. Most days the group separated by gender, but sometimes the Irie household members would walk together, usually continuing an earlier conversation or cram session, unconsciously pairing the other two.

One morning after Kotoko finished listing the Roman emperors, she grabbed Naoki's arm and pulled his head nearer. "Do you think they're dating?" She indicated Satomi and Watanabe, walking ahead, speaking infrequently but in a friendly manner.

"Uh, I haven't heard anything from Watanabe," he told her.

"Hm. Jinko swears that Satomi has a thing for him. Do you know if he likes anyone?" she asked.

He looked at her. "I think he liked some other girl awhile back, but I don't know how he feels now."

"I wonder…" Kotoko laid a finger on her lips.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of playing Cupid," he teased. "That's something Mom would be so happy to hear. Plus, Yuuki would have to give her points!"

"You're right!" she laughed. They had discovered Yuuki's graded Observation Diary when the boy had emptied his backpack on Kotoko's bed one afternoon. He had to endure a great deal of teasing as well as arguments over the scoring. "So, no match-mak‒"

"Kotoko!"

Naoki winced. "Ah, yes, this is the street where Loudmouth joins us."

Kotoko smacked him right before Kinnosuke shoved his way between them. "Good morning, my lovely!" He gave Kotoko a wide grin then turned to Naoki. "Get lost, Irie. I'm here now."

"Kin-chan, that's rude."

"Well, why are you always so close to him? I know you can't have feelings of love for this stuffy bastard."

"When are you going to get it through your head that you're not the boss of me?" Kotoko defiantly moved closer to Naoki and took hold of his arm. "Now go away and bother someone else for a change."

"Aw, sweetheart, you're so cute when you're playing hard-to-get! But I do have to get going. I've got to go over with Sensei our master plan for victory at the Fall Sports Festival." He pointed a thumb at his chest. "I'm the class captain, so I'm in charge of arranging the teams."

"Congratulations. That sounds like a lot of responsibility," Naoki told him in an even tone.

"You bet it is! And we are going to rub your Class A nerdy noses in the dirt, literally!"

"I can hardly wait." Now Naoki sounded bored.

"You won't be talking so snooty when we get through with you!" he yelled over his shoulder as he loped up the school stairs.

"Darn!" Satomi exclaimed. "I hope I get a nice easy event. If I work up a sweat with the weather still this hot, my makeup will run!"

"I wouldn't think you wore enough makeup to worry about, Ishikawa-san," Watanabe told her. She dimpled in response.

Kotoko elbowed Naoki with a grin.

* * *

"Okay, you guys!" Kinnosuke strutted at the front of the classroom. "We're gonna destroy those Class A dweebs this year!"

"We usually win every year anyway," called a student from the back. "Why are you so fired up about it now?"

"Yeah!" added a girl on the far side. "Plus us girls missed doing a beat down on Class B, so let's not forget about them."

"Class A, Class B‒it doesn't matter!" he declared. "We are gonna _dominate_!" He pounded the lectern for emphasis, and the class broke out into applause and sporadic cheers.

"Hsst!" Satomi nudged Kotoko. "You'd better pay attention or King Kong up there'll assign you some awful event."

"Satomi!" Kinnosuke called. "You're the first leg of the mixed relay!"

"What?!" she shouted. "Damn, he caught me off-guard. Hey, Kin-chan, can't you give me something that uses less energy?"

"No!" He pointed at her. "You were a star sprinter in middle school. You've got to share your talents with the class. With your speed, we'll have a great lead right out of the starting block. Nemeto," he pointed at a student in the opposite corner, "you're a good runner in basketball, so you're the second leg." Nemeto nodded his acceptance.

"Hey, Kin-chan!" called out Jinko, "you're being real bossy up there. What are _your_ events?"

" _My_ events‒? Uh," his eyes grew crafty, "wait just a minute."

Everyone watched as he scooted out of the room. "What the hell was that?" asked Satomi, looking over at Kotoko. She leaned across the aisle and swatted her. "How are you able to study with all this noise?"

Kotoko looked up. "I just tune it out."

"What is it now?" She and Jinko both leaned over to look at the surface of Kotoko's desk. "Oh, math formulas."

"Actually, they're physics," Kotoko explained with a small smile. "I want to make sure I'm prepared for the college entra‒"

Kinnosuke burst back into the room. "Okay, now I've got it! I'm going to be doing the 100-meter dash and the mixed relay. Which means that the other person for the relay is Kotoko!"

"Wha-what?!" Her head shot up as her concentration was broken. "Why me?"

"Never you mind. I just have a feeling that you're the best for the job," he informed her with a smirk.

"But‒"

She was cut off by Satomi. "If I've got to do it, then you've got to do it, sister!"

* * *

"So did Mister Macho figure out the sports participation teams?" Naoki asked Kotoko on their way home.

"Yes." She made a face. "I'm doing the scavenger hunt, plus he put me on the mixed relay team with him running anchor."

"Really?" Naoki raised an eyebrow then asked casually, "What is his other event?"

"Some race...yeah, the 100-meter dash." She chased a rock that she had been kicking absently. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm running that race plus I'm also anchor for the mixed relay. Do you think it's a coincidence?"

"Probably not. He left in a run midway through his presentation, leaving us all scratching our heads what he was up to. When he returned he immediately declared that those were his two events."

Naoki narrowed his eyes. "Right. We had the event rosters written on the whiteboard that's visible from the hall."

"Yep, that's what happened. I don't get why he's so fixated on you."

"It's a school recreational event, not the Olympic Games," Naoki pointed out.

"Not according to Kin-chan," she claimed.

They walked a few more meters before he asked, "Why do you keep putting up with his antics?"

"Well," she rubbed her nose, "he's only obnoxious _part_ of the time."

" _All_ of the time around me," Naoki muttered.

"Yeah!" she agreed with a laugh. "But our entire class has been together for over two years, and we don't have too many more months left before we go our separate ways. So, I guess, for sentimental reasons?"

"Even when he is seriously close to exhibiting the behavior of an obsessive stalker?"

"If he overloads my annoyance meter, I can always take him out again. Remember the day after the earthquake!"

* * *

"Now, Kotoko," Kinnosuke loped up to her the next morning and flapped a paper in front of her face. "Here's your training schedule for the relay."

She shoved it away in irritation. "I don't need to train. I'm still in good shape from tennis this summer."

"Yeah, Kin-chan," Satomi supported her, "she spent most of her time chasing after balls that she couldn't hit." Behind them, Naoki smothered a laugh at the memory.

"No, no! That won't do!" Kinnosuke protested, flapping his arms wildly. "You can't run with that contaminated Irie training! You've got to do the Kin-chan training to win against Class A!"

The girls stared at him in astonishment. "You are totally insane," Satomi finally spoke.

"Don't act so high and mighty!" he snarled back at her. "You have training too!" He handed her a sheet which she wadded up and tossed in a nearby trash bin.

Naoki and Watanabe caught up to them as Kinnosuke was yelling that she was going to pay for him having to go to extra trouble to print it out again. Naoki snatched the paper away that was intended for Kotoko and looked over it quickly.

"This is actually a sensible schedule," he noted. "Don't worry. She'll do it."

"What?!" Kotoko and Kinnosuke shouted at the same time, both in some degree of outrage.

"Why are you going along with him?" raged Kotoko.

"Yeah!" added Kinnosuke. "Do you have some secret plan to make us lose? I need to train Kotoko here personally. Give that back!"

"It doesn't really matter who oversees her training," Naoki told him. "Besides, the victory will be all the sweeter if she's in top condition, trained by the competition, right?"

"Aargh! But I don't want you spending any more time with her than you already are!" Kinnosuke finally admitted the truth behind his scheme.

Naoki smiled at the wide opening he was given. "Even if you train her, I'm the one she comes home to at night."

"But-wha-you…" Kinnosuke was left at a loss for words. The original quartet continued to school, Kotoko berating Naoki for teasing the other boy while Satomi and Watanabe laughed together.


	20. Chapter 20

The morning of the sports festival dawned bright and sunny. Kotoko noticed this and snarled as she descended the stairs.

"Kotoko-chan!" Mrs. Irie greeted her more cheerfully than usual. "It's the big day, isn't it? Oh, I'm so excited! You and Onii-chan, competing on the playing field of love…"

Yuuki covered his ears in protest. "It's too early for this."

"You know, it's really not necessary for you to come." Kotoko made one last attempt to dissuade Mrs. Irie.

"Nonsense! I've been looking forward to it so much. Ai-san and Papa are ditching work to see it, and even Yuuki will be coming! That child can miss a day of school, as excellent as his grades are!"

"Yeah, Kotoko," 'That Child' added, "don't mess up my free day. Let Mama have her way."

"Yuuki's right," Naoki agreed, coming up behind her. "There's really no stopping her when she's this far along. Besides, I don't think your dad got to see many of your school activities when you were growing up, did he?"

Abashed, Kotoko shook her head. "All right. But no laughing if I trip and fall on my face!"

"Don't be silly." He patted her head. "Since you practiced with ankle weights, you're more likely to float off the ground."

Kotoko flushed as she smoothed her hair where he had touched. "Yeah, and using that time to drill me in English verbs will probably make me stomp my feet when I'm taking the test."

He chuckled. "I never thought I'd say that I'd rather be in Class F, but the chance of witnessing _that_ certainly tempts me."

"Now, don't forget to look for the family banner!" Mrs. Irie admonished as she waved them off. "Yuuki and I are leaving early to get a good location."

"Did she say 'family banner'?" Kotoko inquired.

"I'm afraid to ask" was the terse response.

* * *

There were many supporting banners on the field that day. It was highly noticeable that the most elaborately decorated of them were for the Class Fs of all grades.

"It's as if Class F has bet their entire futures on today's results," groaned Satomi.

Jinko scowled. "That's why they always make fun of us."

"Not the only reason," Satomi reminded her.

"But Kotoko," Jinko shoved her arm, "Mrs. Irie is something else!"

"I know!" Kotoko had hidden her face on her knees. The Irie banner proudly and contradictorily cheered for both Class A and Class F. Kotoko and Naoki's names were prominently outlined in hearts. Mrs. Irie had even made heart-shaped reversible fans for her entire party, with Kotoko's name on one side and Naoki's on the other.

"Kotoko!"

"Hey, Kotoko." Satomi nudged her. "Here comes the head loon."

Kinnosuke sprang over to where the girls were seated. "The 100-meter race is about to begin! You need to come cheer me on!"

"Yeah, yeah," she responded. She grabbed Satomi and Jinko as she rose. "Come on, girls. We're _all_ in this class, remember?"

She observed that Naoki carefully marked the place in the book he was reading before strolling to the starting line. "Class A sure isn't into this sporting event much, is it?" she asked as she watched his fellow class members with books, notebooks and calculators in their seating area.

"Well, our class usually wins it all. They have other priorities," Satomi added.

"Look! Irie-kun and Kin-chan's lanes are next to each other. I wonder what they're talking about," Jinko mused right as the starting gun went off.

* * *

"Hey, Irie," Kinnosuke greeted the other athlete while bouncing up and down to loosen up.

"Good morning, Ikezawa." Naoki performed a few last slow stretches in his lane.

"Nice day for a race."

"Mm-hm."

"Excuse me, I meant nice day for a _beat down_!" Kinnosuke cackled as they knelt in position. With a wily grin he glanced over at his opponent. "Would you look at those guys pestering Kotoko?!"

Bang!

Kinnosuke shot out of the block as if a rocket had been ignited on his back. Naoki, having paused to look at the sidelines, saw Kotoko with her two friends staring at him in bafflement. Realizing he was the last one left, he took off, cursing under his breath.

The result of the race was the same as the previous two years, with Kinnosuke claiming the number one flag at the finish line. He leaped up and down, crowing his victory. The boys from Class F surrounded him, celebrating the latest win of the day.

As Naoki walked by, wiping his face with the front of his tee-shirt, Kinnosuke called out in derision, "Who's the man now? Who's the man now?"

He turned and glared at him. "You have a pretty narrow description of masculinity, don't you?"

It took Kinnosuke a few seconds to figure out that he had been insulted, but once he did he hollered at the other boy's back, "Sounds like the bark of a loser dog to me!" His friends immediately clapped him on the shoulders for his clever comeback.

* * *

The speakers squawked, "All students except those in the scavenger hunt race, please take your lunches now!"

 _This is such a rip-off,_ Kotoko thought as she headed to the field. _I don't get to have lunch until afterwards. Man, I hope I pull an easy one._

Today was not her day. "The man you love." _Yikes! It's a good thing this is a girls-only event or there could be a lot of raised eyebrows. Wait a minute‒who am I gonna pick?_

She looked over at the sidelines. Kinnosuke was waving at her. Had he pulled some sort of strings as a committee member to have her pick this? She shook her head and turned to the Irie booth. _Obasama has Otosan running the video camera. Mr. Irie is too out-of-shape. I can't ask Naoki, he just finished a race plus we'd get lots of extra teasing‒so, Yuuki-kun it is!_

Kotoko half-dragged the boy to the finish line. Reluctant to be in the limelight in front of older students, he only sped up when she promised to buy him an omnibus volume of his favorite manga when she received her next allowance. They finished a decent second place.

"Now, Kotoko-chan, that must have been a most unusual description for you to choose Yuuki-kun," Mrs. Irie commented. "Let me see your paper." After plucking it out of Kotoko's shorts pocket, she read, "'The man I love'. What is wrong with you, Kotoko-chan?! This was the perfect opportunity to make public your relationship with Onii-chan!"

"Not the place, Obasama," she disagreed. "Definitely not the place!"

"I notice you don't deny there _is_ a relationship!" Kotoko rolled her eyes. "Well, anyway, here, have some lunch quickly before your next event!"

She looked through the cooler (also decorated with Naoki and Kotoko hearts) and took out a rice ball before sitting down next to Naoki. "That doesn't look much like a Kotoko-sized meal," he commented.

"Well, the heat's kind of destroyed my appetite," she informed him before taking a long drink of water.

"So, 'the man you love'."

"Not you too!"

Naoki looked at Kotoko's averted face as she chewed. He squirmed as he admitted to a tiny‒ _ **tiny!**_ ‒bit of jealousy for his brother.

Suddenly she was reminded of something. "Both of us finished second, then."

"Yes." His jaw tightened.

"You were late starting. What happened?"

"Nothing _happened_ ," he replied tersely. "It was just...one of those things."

"Hmm." She didn't quite believe him but she could tell that he didn't want to discuss it. "Well, the relay ought to be interesting. I wonder who Obasama will cheer for?"

He laughed, his mood lifting. "Perhaps she'll have a timer and alternate every few seconds."

Kotoko argued with him. "Maybe on the first two laps, but I bet she'll cheer for me in the third and you in the final."

"Yeah. You're probably right." He stared across the field. "Good luck, Kotoko."

"Good luck to you too, Naoki-kun."

As they walked away together after the announcement for the beginning of the relay, Mrs. Irie called after them, "Kotoko-chan!" When they didn't turn, she made a worried expression. "Her shoelace was loose. I hope she notices before she begins to run!"

* * *

"Now remember, guys, keep a good grip on the baton and just hold it out to the next person. Don't try to push it! And don't forget to let go when the next one's got it!"

"We know, Kin-chan, we know!" Satomi rolled her eyes and tapped her foot. "Can they get this show on the road?"

Kotoko leaned over and whispered, "Watanabe's in the long jump, right?" Satomi smiled secretively. "Don't worry. You should have plenty of time to put on fresh makeup before that event."

Soon enough the race began. Satomi started off strong and handed the baton to Nemeto smoothly. He retained the lead and Kotoko received the baton in her turn, with Class E not too far behind at that time.

As she headed into the last 20 meters, she saw Kinnosuke, leaned over with arm back to receive the baton. Naoki stood next to him, not quite in a crouch as the Class A runner was trailing the pack. Kotoko felt herself fall off-balance, and, looking down, saw a loose shoelace. Normally she would have righted herself with no problem, but time‒and space‒ran out. She veered wildly to regain her balance and slammed into Naoki. Despite the sudden impact, he didn't fall over and his arms automatically encircled hers.

"Irie, let go of her!" Kinnosuke raged.

Naoki removed the baton from Kotoko's grasp and handed it to Kinnosuke. "Here! The race is all-important to you, right?" He quickly guided Kotoko to the side and returned to his lane before the lagging Class A runner arrived. Kinnosuke, after a brief fuming moment, was meters ahead.

Once she retied her shoe, Kotoko made her way past where the teachers had now strung the finish line and stood at the edge of the track. The shouts of the onlookers for their favorite runners were almost deafening. On the other side of the field, she saw Kinnosuke in the lead, but Naoki was slowly gaining on him, passing first one runner, then another. The two were jostling for the lead at the final turn when it happened.

Behind her, a group of girls rushed to the track. "Irie-kun is racing!" "Oh, I've got to see this!" "Excuse us!" "Coming through!" Already shaken from the earlier collision and slightly weak from hunger, Kotoko's stance was no match for their pushing. She fell face down on the track and thus missed Naoki's breaking the finish line ribbon. She did not miss the full weight of his body on hers as he tripped and fell, she being right in his path.

* * *

"Kotoko! Kotoko!"

She raised her head and spit out some sand before opening her eyes. "Naoki-kun?"

"Where do you hurt?" he asked, running his hands lightly down her limbs.

"Everywhere!" she moaned.

"Hey! You! Irie! Get your hands off Kotoko!"

Naoki, an arm under Kotoko's shoulder, turned to him. "Get your mind out of the gutter and get out of our way. I'm going to get her fixed up in the nurse's office."

"She's in my class! I'll take care of her!" he spouted.

"I don't think so," the other boy replied as he hoisted Kotoko onto his back. "She wouldn't want to spend time with a loser dog, now would she?"

"Kotoko!" Mr. Aihara turned to Mrs. Irie. "Do you think she's hurt? I need to go to her!"

"No, you don't!" he was commanded. "You need to keep that focus on them. Zoom in on their faces as tightly as you can!" Mrs. Irie was clicking madly on the camera, shifting to the side for a better angle. "Going to the nurse's office!" she breathed. "I'd love to follow! That's where they shared their first kiss!" She recalled her delight and astonishment when Satomi and Jinko had informed her of that event when they and those boys had crashed dinner earlier in the year. That information had more than made up for the trouble of adding two place settings to the table, plus it had given her that marvelous idea… "I wonder if that place will be magical again?"

* * *

"Hey," Kotoko said as her scrapes were being cleaned up. "You won, huh?"

"Yep." His eyes focused on another abrasion.

"What happened the first race?" she asked. "You were sure fast enough in the relay."

"Let's just say I finally found my motivation."

She poked him in the nose with a finger. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

He grabbed the hand in his face and pressed his mouth to her palm briefly. Grinning over it, he replied, "Nope."

Kotoko wrinkled her nose at him, trying to act normally, while her heart raced. _What the hell was that?_ she wondered. _And why does my whole arm tingle when he just touched my hand?_


	21. Chapter 21

It was late at night when Naoki and Kotoko made their way to the kitchen after a bout of studying. As Kotoko cleaned the dishes from the snacks that Mrs. Irie had delivered several hours earlier, Naoki boiled water for some tea.

"I'm really surprised that Obasama didn't show up for the tray," Kotoko commented.

"Yes," Naoki agreed. "She usually takes every opportunity to 'check up' on us."

"With camera in hand!" she laughed.

"Right. And I'm beginning to fear what she's going to do with that memory card full of photos. Man, that highlight reel from the sports festival…" He placed a hand over his face.

"I thought she would never stop playing it! And after I began the day talking about falling on my face, I ended up doing exactly that‒on camera!"

He winced. "And the slow motion special effects while I carried you off the field… You know, she even saved that as a gif file and uses it as her computer screensaver." He shook his head. "I didn't know she was that tech savvy."

"We should never underestimate your mother," Kotoko reminded him. "But I wonder what happened to her tonight. Do you think the older generation pooped out and went to bed early?"

"Could be," he chuckled. Then he cocked his head and listened. "Maybe not."

The two crept down the hall and looked through the glass doors into Mr. Irie's study. All three adults were seated around a low table, examining a set of blueprints. Mrs. Irie was clearly the one in charge.

"So this room will be Naoki and Kotoko-chan's bedroom, and the adjoining one is reserved for when they have a baby."

"Hmm. All right." Mr. Irie pointed to the sheet. "Then is it okay if we turn this one into a karaoke room?"

"Oh, no," she refused him. "That's directly above the baby's room. No, put that in the basement."

"Okay, we'll make it‒this room!"

Mr. Aihara's brow was creased. "So shall I tell the builders that construction on my house is officially cancelled?"

"Of course," Mrs. Irie giggled. "Next year, as soon as the two of them graduate, we'll put this plan into action. And then‒"

"What plan?" Naoki and Kotoko both stood in the open doorway, faces furious.

The adults sat as if frozen until Mr. Irie began to wave his arms in a manner reminiscent of Kinnosuke. "Oh, the two of you are still up?! It's late‒off to bed, children!"

"What were you discussing just now, Otosan?" Kotoko's hands were on her hips, her expression belligerent.

"Yipes! Uh, well, that was‒…"

Naoki strode over and picked up the papers. "What's with this floor plan?! What do you mean 'Naoki and Kotoko-chan's bedroom'?!"

"C-calm down, Naoki." His father attempted reason.

"Explain yourselves!"

The two men ducked their heads, shame-faced. "We knew you'd object if we told you...so we went ahead with plans for a three-generation home without informing you," Mr. Irie admitted.

Naoki narrowed his eyes. "According to this floor plan, Kotoko and I would share a bedroom."

With his wife poking him in the back, his father continued, "I-it's just that we'd have an extra room to spare if you two were to, uh…"

"Since Aihara-san is in on this, I assume you don't mean mere cohabitation." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Cohabby-what?" asked Kotoko.

"Living together," he answered briefly.

"But we have been‒" Naoki leaned down and whispered in her ear. She turned bright red. "Otosan! Obasama!" Her voice expressed shock and outrage.

"Relax, " he told her, "it looks like they're forcing us into marriage." He faced his mother with irritation. "Inflicting your own selfish whims on your children's lives‒and you call yourselves parents?!" His voice grew even louder. "We have a right to choose too, you know!"

"Yes!" Kotoko advanced to face her father. "I knew there was something fishy about our house not being ready yet, but I didn't think that you would actually lie to me! And then‒ _this_!"

Mr. Aihara slumped further. "Well, the Missus was so sure that it would please you two…"

"Weren't you even listening when I told you that I wanted to go away to college?" Kotoko blinked away unaccustomed tears. "I guess this means that you have no faith in me. The one person I thought I could trust‒my own father…" She suddenly turned and ran upstairs. They all watched her exit in silence.

"Well," Naoki said after a moment, "I hope you're proud of yourselves." He ripped the blueprints in half. Before he turned to follow Kotoko he fired a parting shot. "And it appears that you think I would be taking the easy way out, as well. Enjoy your assumptions, since you refuse to look at the truth."

Mr. Aihara was in a state of panic. "What have I done to my little girl?! Kotoko‒my baby! I never intended‒I need to go tell her‒"

"No, you don't." Mrs. Irie laid a firm hand on his arm. "You need to stay right here and let Onii-chan take care of this." She gathered the pieces of paper and inspected the damage. "Nothing that good old Scotch tape won't fix! I'll just put this away for the time being, until tempers settle back down."

"Mama!" Mr. Irie was aghast. "You mean‒you still plan to go through with it?"

"Of course, silly!" She waved her hand. "This is just a little lover's spat."

"Lovers?!"

"Oh yes! I know they've kissed‒several times!" She fudged the truth. "I have my sources about their relationship. Everything will smooth over shortly."

* * *

"I never cry," Kotoko asserted, sniffing as she sat on her bed, arms around her bent knees.

"Of course not," Naoki agreed as he stood above her. After a moment he lowered himself next to her and placed a hesitant arm around her shoulders. "I must apologize for my mother‒"

Kotoko waved away his words. "No, that's to be expected from her. Well," she thought a moment, "maybe not _expected_ , but not too much of a stretch, knowing her. It's Otosan‒" She hid her face on her knees.

He sighed. "It's not that he doesn't think you can't succeed. He just got caught up in Mother's web of imagination. And Dad, too. Mom probably has both of them convinced that this putative relationship is destined due to their longtime friendship."

Kotoko rubbed the supposedly nonexistent tears from her eyes. "Naoki-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Can we stay like this? Just for a few more minutes."

"Sure, Kotoko. Anything you want."

"Thanks." She sniffed again as she leaned against him. "Thanks for believing in me."

"Not a problem, Kotoko. Not a problem."


	22. Chapter 22

"Can you ask her for us?" A group of Class F students had gathered around Satomi and Jinko.

"I don't know, Po-chan." Satomi glanced at Kotoko, who was bent over one of her study books in total concentration. "She hardly comes up for air nowadays. It's like she's out to prove something to someone."

"But ever since Hakamada-sensei told us about the college cut-off, we're all worried about these exams!" another girl fretted.

"My mom started crying, 'What did we put you into this school for?..."

"We didn't know about there being a cut-off point in the past…"

"If something doesn't happen, then this will be the end!"

"Come on! My uncle has even offered us a place to meet," Nemeto coaxed.

Jinko looked over at Satomi. "This would benefit everyone in the class, but I'm with you about approaching Kotoko. Why don't we forget the middleman and go straight to the source?"

* * *

"Oh my!" Mrs. Irie beamed after opening the door. "It's Kotoko-chan's little friends." She leaned out and looked behind them. "It is just you, right?"

"Yeah," Jinko laughed. "We left the noisy annoying one behind."

"No, no, never mind! Come in, come in! I'll just tell Kotoko-chan that you're here…"

"Excuse us, Mrs. Irie, but we didn't come for her."

* * *

"You want me to do what?!"

"Conduct a cram session, tutoring class, whatever you want to call it‒"

"‒for Class F students!" Satomi and Jinko sat on the edge of the couch and eyed him expectantly.

Naoki rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from their eager faces. "I don't know…"

"Why, of course you can, Onii-chan!" His mother entered with a tray of tea and cookies. "You've helped Kotoko-chan immensely this year, so why don't you give of yourself a little more?" She set the teacups in front of the girls. "He's so shy about this…"

"I'm not a teacher!" he protested.

"But like she said, you've helped Kotoko!" Jinko argued.

"We're not even asking for whatever miracle you've performed with her," Satomi continued. "Just enough to let us pass the test and make it into the escalator college."

"But where would we do it?" He tried another tack. "We don't have desks, or a board‒"

"All taken care of!" Jinko assured him. "Nemeto-kun's uncle is a manager at a fast-food restaurant. He'll block off the back room and let us move the tables around. He even has a projector you can use!"

Naoki met their gazes. "I'm not going to be allowed to say 'no', am I?"

"And why should you want to?" His mother swatted him on the back. "This will be good practice for when you have to help your children with their homework." Her son shot her a glare and she stood up quickly. "Well, I'll let you young ones finalize your plans! I have dinner to prepare!"

* * *

"A 'projector', she said." Naoki stared at the ancient overhead model. "What century did this come from?"

"Sorry, Irie-kun." Nemeto shrugged. "I thought Occhan meant a video projector too. But here," he handed over supplies, "he gave us transparencies and dry-erase markers!"

Naoki took them, shaking his head. "Well, if these are my tools, I guess I'll make it work."

* * *

Thanks to generous donations of caffeinated drinks from Nemeto's uncle, the afternoon concluded with all participants awake at the end of the five-hour session. Kotoko had attended as well, even though Naoki had told her it was not necessary. "I didn't want you to miss out on any of your self-study time."

"No," she disagreed. "It was a good review for me. Plus, it _is_ my class. I feel a little responsible."

"Hm," he murmured while stretching his neck in a manner that told her he was in pain. "If I hadn't started helping you, they never would have approached me; so yeah, you're responsible." He grinned over at her. "What are you going to do to make it up to me?"

Her eyes slanted to the ceiling of the train. "Maybe massage your shoulders when we get home?"

"Deal." He closed his eyes and leaned back against the side of the car. "I noticed that your admirer didn't show up today."

"Kin-chan?" Kotoko made a face. "Not that I saw it, but Satomi said that he went on and on about how the others were idiots for 'sucking up' to you. According to him," she deepened her voice, "'a real man uses his own wits and skills to win!'"

Naoki snorted. "Then he's going into the battle unarmed."

"That's mean," Kotoko said, "but true, nonetheless. I wonder if he's aware that Dozo and Gintaro came today?"

"Tweedledum and Tweedledee? If they absorbed half of what I shared, he may soon be calling _them_ 'Boss'!"

* * *

Face down on Kotoko's bed, Naoki said, in a muffled voice, "I thought that you promised to take care of my neck and shoulders. That's my back‒Ow!"

Kotoko dug in a little deeper. "It's all connected. Don't you remember tutoring me in Biology?"

"Theoretical knowledge is a lot less painful than applied‒how hard are you pressing?!"

She stuck her tongue out at him, even though he couldn't see it. "Not hard enough if it's still hurting. No pain, no gain, right?"

"That phrase‒oof!‒doesn't apply in this situation."

"Ah!" Kotoko felt the muscle release. "That's better!" She changed the angle and intensity of pressure. "You did a good thing today," she told him.

"Mmph?"

"You gave hope to a lot of people who thought they weren't going to be able to make it into college."

"There's no guarantee that they'll pass. Or that they'll even succeed if they get in."

"They have a better chance now." She began working on one of his shoulders and he was able to turn his head to the side.

"All of those people in Class F, just like you, want to go to college where they'll be at a disadvantage without basic knowledge and study skills. Why?"

"We discussed this before." She leaned over and banged the back of his head with her forehead. "Remember?"

"Ouch! What kind of move was that?" he asked. "And of course I remember. I remember everything, remember?" he joked weakly.

"Haha." She ground her knuckles into the depression next to his shoulder blade.

"I also remember that the conversation was interrupted when you fell on top of me."

"That's right." She paused, recalling exactly what part of her body had made the first impact. "Well, a college degree is almost expected nowadays, for a decent career. While I know that college is really meant for smart people like you, Naoki-kun‒"

"I couldn't care less about going to college."

She pounded him in frustration, forgetting about massage techniques. After his subsequent yelp, she lit into him. "Why would someone like you _not_ go to college? You're so brilliant that your brain is practically a‒a national treasure. Your genius has to be shared for the betterment of all!"

"I'm not sure I care to be designated public property. Besides, I can learn anything without being taught. I don't see the need in college for myself."

She climbed off his back and shoved his legs over the edge of the bed so he could sit next to her. "But you promised to take the national college test with me!" Her determination to excel in the exam had intensified since that eventful evening; she and her father had still not resumed completely their easy relationship.

After pulling his shirt back over his head, he stared down at her and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, I will. I simply don't see the point of the Todai test if I'm not going there."

"But Irie-sama is so set on it! He always talks about you going to his alma motto!"

"Mater." It was now second nature for him to correct her misspeaks. "Yes, _**his!**_ He seems to think that I'm just going to follow in his footsteps and take his place at Pandai."

"I thought that was what you wanted."

"Well, I never thought there was any alternative before."

"What changed?"

"You crashed into my life."

"Huh?"

"Yes. You," he poked a finger between her eyebrows twisted with confusion, "with your optimism and stubbornness and refusal to quit. Managing to learn even though you hate studying."

She moved his hand from her face as she quirked her mouth. " _That_ hasn't changed much."

He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "It makes me wonder if there's something different for me out there. If I go to Todai, I know I'll be firmly set on the path that my parents have always assumed I'd follow. But I'm not sure any longer that I want to blindly go that way."

"That sounds like me, searching for my role in life. Hey," she bumped shoulders with him in jest, "maybe we should go to the same college and help each other search for our life's purpose."

Naoki stared at her, arrested. "That's...not really a bad idea."

"I was joking! _Joking!_ " she stressed, even though she felt her heart skip a beat. "You're way too high above me to settle on a college that I can get into! As it is, you had to pick my choices based on how you think I'll do on the test. You're probably going to ace it."

"Probably. But that doesn't mean I can't learn or excel any place I go."

"I'm not having Obasama and your father blaming me if you make that decision. You still have to take the Todai test in February and keep your options open. You must!"

"Okay, okay. I will." He placed a hand on her cheek. "My future is that important to you?"

Just as she nodded, the door to her bedroom opened. "I thought maybe you two might like‒" Mrs. Irie's opening speech was cut off in a shriek and she almost dropped the tray. "Kotoko-chan! Onii-chan!"

"What?" They turned to look at her.

"Don't tell me," Mrs. Irie leaned against the wall, hand to her heart, "that there's finally starting to be some progress in your love affair?!"

"Oh, no!" Kotoko covered her eyes while Naoki rolled his.

He patted her shoulders. "Just ignore her. She's hysterically delusional again."

"What's the racket?" Yuuki walked in. "Kotoko, can I borrow the next two volumes of this?" He held up a manga. She waved a hand in permission and he sat in front of her on the floor and pulled out the storage bin under her bed. "Mama acting crazy again?" he whispered to her. She nodded. In a manner too mature for his age, he stated confidently, "She needs to take a chill pill!"


	23. Chapter 23

For the remaining days until the final exams, teachers of Class F were astounded at the attention and meticulous note-taking in their courses.

"It's as if they're trying to make up for almost twelve years of goofing off," mused Hakamada.

Tsushima, one of the teachers of Classes A and B, snorted in derision. "Lots of good that will do them!"

"Now, you mustn't disparage Class F," disputed Hakamada. "Remember the improvement in Aihara!"

"Just a fluke! Besides, it's not as if Irie would have tutored _all_ of them!"

* * *

He had to eat his words less than a week later. "It looks like nearly everyone in Class F met the college cut off!" crowed Hakamada. "And several of them besides Aihara made it into the top 100!"

Tsushima shook his head. "I just don't understand it."

"They'll be so happy when I tell them the results!"

* * *

Indeed, the class was extraordinarily exuberant, a combination of excitement and relief. It almost pained Hakamada to add, "Ikezawa Kinnosuke, I need you to come with me to the counselor's office."

"Why?" He grinned widely. "Did I get the best score of them all? See!" He turned and pointed to his classmates in derision, "I told you that we didn't need Stinky Irie's help!"

"Um, that's not exactly the case. I'll let the counselor explain your options. Now, hurry along!"

"Oh, my!" The class conversed in whispers as the deflated Kinnosuke slunk out of the room behind the teacher. "There but for the grace of God…" murmured Nemeto, who was immediately the recipient of one of Kinnosuke's deadly glares.

The buzz rapidly rose in volume once he exited. "I feel sorry for Kin-chan but I'm so happy!"

"My parents will be glad that their prayers paid off!"

"And it's all thanks to wonderful Irie-kun!" They let out a rousing cheer in his name.

"Hey, why don't we pitch in and get him some sort of gift?"

"That's a great idea!"

"But it can't cost much!"

* * *

A few days before Christmas Naoki and Watanabe strolled the Shibuya district after watching a late afternoon movie, viewing the holiday decorations on their way to find a place to eat.

"Man, you are so lucky," Watanabe observed. "I hear you were number one again. Perfect score and all that."

"Thanks." _Of course, it didn't hurt that I had a marathon review session a few days before the exams…_

"Oh, hey‒did you hear about how great Class F did this time? What do you suppose got into them?"

"Well…" He reluctantly decided to spill the beans to his friend.

"Are you freaking kidding me? You tutored _all_ of Class F and shoved them through the finals?!"

"Almost all," he corrected him. "Kotoko's annoying admirer declined to participate."

"So, how did _he_ do?"

"Let's just say that the administration decided he wasn't college material."

"Ouch! Sucks to be him. But, hey!" he mock-punched his friend's upper arm, "you could have let me know what was going on. I would have pitched in and helped."

Naoki narrowed his eyes. "No ulterior motive, I suppose?"

"Well," he shrugged his shoulders, "Satomi-san and I are sort of seeing each other. I wonder why she didn't ask _me_ for assistance?"

He thought a minute. "Maybe she didn't want you to look down on her lack of knowledge."

"Why, I would never‒!" he exclaimed.

Naoki's mouth quirked. "It's just a possibility. Funny, it's not something that would have occurred to me until this year."

"So, Aihara-san is making you more sensitive to your fellow man?" he teased.

"Perhaps." He laughed. "But I don't know that I'd extend it to Monkey Man of Class F!"

* * *

When Naoki entered the vestibule of his home he noticed several pairs of shoes. _Wonder who has visitors_.

"Onii-chan!" Mrs. Irie called in greeting. "You're finally home!"

"Sorry, Ma. Was I expected earlier?"

"Some of Kotoko's‒and your‒friends are here to see you!"

Wondering who she meant by that description, he followed her into the living room. Satomi, Jinko and the young man from the race‒and the study restaurant‒stood up and bowed to him. "Hello?" he asked, puzzled.

"We would like to thank you for helping our class pass the test," Satomi began. "Without you, we'd probably all be looking for work."

"Like poor Kin-chan!" Jinko added.

"Uh, the class took up a collection, and my uncle chipped in too," Nemeto said nervously. He handed Naoki a folder in the colors of Tonan High. "Just show this certificate at the restaurant and you can have a free meal every week for the next year!"

"Isn't that great?" His mother had tears in her eyes. She slapped him on the shoulder. "Thank them, you dolt!"

"This," he waved the certificate, "really was not necessary. You passed the tests using your own knowledge and skills. I merely provided you with ways to focus them."

"Nicely said!" she approved.

"Well," Satomi picked up her purse briskly, "this is what we came for. I'll say goodbye now, since I have to plan my wardrobe for the big Christmas Eve date!"

Naoki winked at her. "I hope you and Watanabe enjoy yourselves."

"What?!" Jinko began to shove her towards the door. "You need to keep me updated on things like that! So long, Iries! And Kotoko!" She waved as they left, Nemeto making a final hesitant bow before following them.

"This is so exciting!" Mrs. Irie read the certificate and wiped her eyes. "Look! The entire class signed it! I'm so proud of you! I'd frame it except then you wouldn't be able to use it."

Naoki sat down near Kotoko. "Go ahead and frame it. I don't eat junk food like that."

"Onii-chan! You must use it a few times, if only to show your appreciation!" she scolded.

"Right," he answered wearily. "Kotoko or Yuuki can go with me. Their coffee isn't half bad, so I can just have that."

"Kotoko, not Yuuki," Mrs. Irie corrected absently. Still on top of the world, she continued, "My son‒the savior of high school students! Goodness, if you weren't going to set the world on fire as the head of Pandai, you could be Teacher of the Year in Japan!" She proceeded to the kitchen with the depleted tray of cookies and teacups, humming as she went.

Kotoko looked at him sympathetically when he groaned. "It's hard when you're the one in her firing sights, isn't it? Now that exams are over, you're going to need to watch carefully what she serves, because she is bound and determined to get me back to cooking."

"Nah," he waved a hand, "I'll just tell her that you need to cram for the college placement test. That'll get you two or three weeks' reprieve."

She laughed and scooted closer. "Thanks! Say, what did you think of the whole experience? Does teaching feel like something you'd like to do as a career?"

Naoki leaned forward, resting clasped hands on his knees to consider it. "While I sort of enjoyed the one-on-one tutoring with you, I don't think I could handle a full class year-round. And‒please don't get offended at this‒especially not a Class F type of group."

"No. We're a real handful at times. Well, nothing needs to be decided tonight. How about teaming up for a few rounds of Nazi Zombies until bedtime?"

"Sure."

Mrs. Irie came zipping into the room, camera in hand, as they neared the hall. "Wait! Stop right there in the doorway!" They turned and looked at her in confusion. "Above you!" She pointed. "Mistletoe!"

"So?" Naoki asked.

"You know what that means! Kiss! Kiss!" She pursed her lips at them in case they didn't understand plain Japanese.

"Ma, that's a custom from Victorian England, not Japan!" he protested, while Kotoko's hands covered her cheeks in embarrassment at his mother's latest blatant manipulative attempt.

She pouted. "You're no fun!"

The atmosphere in the household had yet to return to normal after the "Blueprint Incident." Added to that, it had been a long day following an unusually stressful test season. His temper snapped.

"You want me to kiss Kotoko?" His mother nodded expectantly while Kotoko's eyes widened. "Fine!" He pulled one of her hands down and kissed her briefly on the cheek. "Are you satisfied now?" He turned to the girl next to him. "Sorry, Kotoko, I guess I'm not in the mood for fighting pretend Nazis. I'm exhausted from battling the insane dictator in my own family."

As he stomped his way upstairs, Mrs. Irie fussed, "What a disappointment of a kiss! And I didn't even get the chance to snap a picture!" She meandered back to the kitchen muttering about ungrateful children.

Kotoko stood for a moment, hand touching where Naoki's lips had. She wondered if he found it that unpleasant to kiss her, even on the cheek, especially when there had been that accidental lip bumping and mysterious hand caress in those two separate visits to the high school nurse's office. She sighed. _Obasama pressed the wrong buttons‒again. I guess I'm not in the mood for zombies either,_ she concluded as she also went upstairs.


	24. Chapter 24

Naoki remained miffed at his mother through the holiday season, even refusing to join the family on the New Year's shrine visit. He tended to give her short, cold answers, and the tense atmosphere dampened everyone's mood.

After Kotoko and her father returned from their semi-annual visit with relatives, she noticed that he was careful not to touch her during their evening cram sessions. His absence at her and Yuuki's nightly video game meetings was also remarked upon.

"What's with Onii-chan lately?" his brother complained.

"Obasama pushed him too far," she told him, not wanting to share the details.

"Yeah, she does that regularly. But he usually doesn't let it spread to everyone else!"

Kotoko gave him a hug. "Don't take it personally. I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon. I wonder if there's a male version of PMS?" she asked herself out loud.

"What's that?" asked sharp-eared Yuuki.

* * *

The girl stared at the tarot cards on the low table before her. _The Lovers, the Tower, the Moon, reversed Chariot, the Hanged Man,_ she mused. _Add those to the others,_ she thought as she expertly slid them back into the deck, _and it means one thing. Someone is coming who needs my help._

* * *

The day before school resumed Kotoko was surprised when Naoki knocked on her door fairly early in the morning.

"Would you like to go to the shrine with me?" he asked.

"Today? Ah, that's right. You didn't go with the family. Sure!" She hopped up from the floor and put away her game.

"I'll wait for you downstairs, then."

 _Finally!_ she thought. _I was beginning to think I was going to have to hit him over the head with something!_

* * *

They walked together in the winter chill through the streets of Akihabara, huddled in their jackets. "Is this where your family usually goes?" she asked.

"No," he answered. "I was in the mood for a change. Just a few more blocks and a hill until we're there."

When they reached their destination Kotoko stopped and stared in admiration at the vermilion walls. "My, so this is the famous Kanda shrine!"

"Yes." Naoki breathed deeply. "Nature was able to destroy it but not man," he commented, then turned to her and gestured. "Shall we?"

A sweeping shrine maiden jumped suddenly as if struck and spun around as the two disappeared into the building. "They're here!" she breathed. Clutching the broom in one hand and the length of her red hakama with the other, she hurried to where she had stowed her bag.

* * *

"It's peaceful this time of day, I guess," Kotoko commented.

"If you're complaining, we can come back when it's busy," Naoki jested.

She elbowed him playfully, glad that his mood of discord had lifted. "No, I need to look at the charms, and I don't need any distractions. Say," she turned to him, "I didn't get you a gift for Christmas‒"

"Same here," he interrupted gruffly. "Don't worry about it."

"No, no, let me buy you some sort of charm as thanks for all the help this year. Let's see...you don't need the _anzan_ ," he winced as she waved the amulet for successful pregnancy, "and probably not the one for help in examinations." Her hand hovered over the omamori offerings.

"I'll buy you one for that." He reached for it but halted when he felt a soft touch on his arm.

"Your money is not necessary here." A young woman with a serene expression and kind green eyes held two cloth bags in one hand.

"Do you work here?" Kotoko asked.

She smiled. "I volunteer at times. Here," she proffered the bags, "take them. I made them with you in mind."

"But how did you‒" Kotoko didn't complete the sentence as she took her bag. After a few seconds, Naoki accepted his also.

"Now," she held up a warning hand, "do not untie the ribbons. These bags hold a combination of talismans to guide you through the troubles that you will soon encounter. Many prayers were also said over the wrappings for extra strength."

"You're not serious," Naoki said while tossing his gift lightly.

"The cards revealed your future adversities to me. Keep the charms near when you go to face them."

"And I can't open it?" Kotoko was holding the bag to the light, trying to see through.

"It will open of itself when its usefulness has been exhausted," she replied placidly. "You can look inside then."

"Ri-i-ight," Naoki drawled, skepticism in both his voice and facial expression.

"Well, thank you very much, uh…" Kotoko struggled for what to call her.

"I am Toujou." She bowed to them. "Oh! And don't get them mixed up! They were made for each of you individually." She disappeared into the shadows of the next room.

"Hard to do that," Naoki said sarcastically, "since the ribbons are different colors."

"That was...strange." Kotoko stared after her.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here." They exited and walked in silence for several minutes. As they crossed a park, Kotoko ran ahead and kicked an errant soccer ball back to some die-hard young players, who waved their thanks. She returned, laughing, to where Naoki waited, leaning against a tree.

"See," she said, "soccer is my game, not tennis!"

He gave a slight grin and touched the end of her french-braided side ponytail. "I notice that you've been trying a few new hairstyles lately."

"Well," she winked at him, "someone told me that I was stuck in a boring routine, so I decided to add more variety."

Naoki hunched his shoulders. "I don't think the word 'boring' was used." He cleared his throat a few times, as if he was trying to speak. After a moment he finally said, "I hope my mood didn't spoil your break."

Recognizing that this was sort of an apology, she smiled at him. "No, everyone has times that they don't feel like being a ray of sunshine. Too bad yours was during the most cheerful season of the year!"

"You're too easy on me," he sighed. "That evening… I reacted to Mother's suggestion in a way," he swallowed, "that implied you were as much to blame as she was. I wasn't fair to you."

She looked up at him soberly. "You're right. You made me wonder if I had done something wrong. Or if there was something wrong with me. I didn't care for that feeling."

"This is all new to me," he muttered, staring at the ground.

"What is?"

He reached out and brought their faces together. "This," he said before his lips met hers gently.

"Wh-what?" she managed when his head lifted. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was afraid visitors to the park would look around for the _chū-daiko_ making all the noise.

"That's how I wanted to kiss you under the mistletoe," he said softly, "but I didn't want it to be for Mother's enjoyment‒and triumph. I'm sorry that it took me this long to understand that and pull myself together."

A blissful sense of relief fell over her, but "I see" was all she managed to get out.

Naoki stared at her for (what seemed to him) like an agonizingly long period of silence while she stared at the ground. "Kotoko…" He didn't know what else to say.

Finally she raised her eyes. "You know," she placed a finger on her bottom lip, "you made me feel re-e-ealllly bad. I don't think that was enough to make up for it."

"Does that mean‒" He stared at her, not daring to complete the sentence.

"It's all new to me too, but I thought I made myself clear enough for the genius of Japan," she teased, right before she grabbed his face and pulled it down to hers.

* * *

"I almost gave up on you, Nozomi," Ayase Eli complained to her close friend. "But then I realized that this is your shrine day and you tend to forget about time there."

"Time is an artificial construct, Eli-chan," she chided, "but I was aware of it. I was just making sure that a young couple would be able to survive the rough seas ahead by providing them with sufficient protection."

"Ah, the 'all-knowing' Toujou Nozomi strikes again!" Eli laughed. "What are they about to face?"

"Well, for one thing," she frowned, "the college entrance exams."

"We have that as well!" Eli linked arms with her former vice-president. "Did you take care of us also, or were you totally distracted by strangers?"

"I prepared ours a long time ago!" Nozomi slipped a small bag of ice-blue silk out of her purse and handed it to her. "Not that you and I need them, but I spent _hours_ on Nico's!"

"Did the shrine run out of good luck?" The two laughed together and ran to catch the bus for practice.

* * *

 **A/N: The guest characters are a shout-out to my rhythm game, _Love Live: School Idol Festival_. As well as being fun, it's an easy way to find Japanese names for my added or canon-unnamed characters! I didn't think you'd mind since we _finally_ got a REAL kiss‒or several!**


	25. Chapter 25

On the first morning of the new semester, Satomi and Watanabe exchanged glances when they noticed that Naoki's and Kotoko's hands brushed against each other's frequently. They said nothing at first, but finally Satomi leaned over and whispered, "Aren't they cute? I haven't seen that much blushing since I last watched _Kimi ni Todoke_."

"I'm not sure I understand the reference," he replied, "but that's the most relaxed I've seen Irie since the beginning of high school."

She giggled. "I can't stand it any longer! I'm going to pull her aside and get all the deets!" Satomi detached the two with a slick move, shrugging an apology to Naoki as she did so. She bent her head down to Kotoko's and whispered, "I see that Santa brought you a stupendous present at Christmas."

Kotoko looked at her in confusion. "Santa Claus? Otosan and I aren't Christian."

"Aw! How sweet! I meant you and Irie-kun."

"You-you can tell?"

"Honey, a blind man can tell! Well, maybe except for the one heading this way." She scowled at the approaching Kinnosuke and squeezed Kotoko's arm. "I'll get it out of you later why you think you have to keep it secret!"

"Yo! Happy New Year!" the beaming Kinnosuke called with a wave.

"Kin-chan sure is happy considering his test results," Kotoko commented _sotto voce_ before speaking to him. "Hi, there. How was your holiday?"

"Yeah!" Jinko joined them. "You didn't come to the Christmas or New Year's parties. Were you taking makeup exams?"

"Shush!" Satomi hissed.

"Don't mention that!" Kotoko added.

Kinnosuke only blanched for a moment before recovering himself. "Hey, no need to act so sensitive on my account, Kotoko," he assured her suavely. "I'm not going to college."

Jinko decided to put the other foot in her mouth. "Without college, what the heck are you going to do?"

He thrust out his chest and swaggered. "I've decided to go out into society one step ahead of you all. That way I'll be ready to accept Kotoko as my wife at any time." He glanced over to see how she took the news.

"Does that mean you have a job prospect?" Naoki drawled.

"Hmph!" He snorted his displeasure that Kotoko was not the one asking. "You might say that. They were more than happy to have me‒in fact, they didn't even want to wait until after I graduate! I've been going over to help out every night since New Year's."

"What kind of job is it?" Satomi looked dubious.

"Nuh-uh! That's a secret."

"Thought so," she muttered.

"Wait a little longer‒then I'll invite all of you over to my workplace. Well, after I show Kotoko first."

"Kin-chan," Jinko raised a finger to emphasize her point, "this is going to sound harsh, but you should cut your losses and look for someone else. Not only has Kotoko never shown any interest in you, but she's gonna meet a lot of men in college. And, you know, she might not even stay in Tokyo."

"Ha, that's what you think! I don't give up that easily. You see, I've got a little 'love plan' already in place, and I've got the inside track, no matter what you think, Irie!" He cackled as he pointed a finger less than ten centimeters from Naoki's face.

Out of sight of the jeering Kinnosuke, Naoki squeezed a mortified Kotoko's hand.

* * *

"Ai-chan, thanks for the wonderful meal!" Mr. Irie expressed the feelings of his entire family as they relaxed after dinner in the Aihara restaurant.

"Think nothing of it!" he replied. "After all, tomorrow is the big exam day, and my little Kotoko wouldn't even have this chance if it hadn't been for your Naoki tutoring her!" He beamed at the students sitting side by side. "With my good healthy food, you two will be all set for the test!"

"Yes, yes, college and knowledge‒ _ooh, that rhymes!_ ‒is all well and good, but true happiness will come from finding your destined lifemate." Mrs. Irie kept a smile glued onto her face as she jerked her head at Kotoko, signaling her to scoot closer to Naoki. Letting out a breath of frustration when neither of them moved, she held her cup out for another refill.

"Now, Mama," her husband remonstrated, "haven't you had enough?"

"Nonsense!" She quaffed the beer and burped softly. "A man cannot be a success without a loyal wife at his side." She hugged Mr. Irie. "Right, darling?"

"Um, yes…" he began, reddening all the way up to his bald crown. Yuuki began to slide down in his seat in embarrassment.

She was not finished. Using the empty glass instead of her finger she pointed at her elder son. "Now, you‒hic!‒need to follow your father's example and marry a wonderful woman like me! And the sooner the better!"

"Ma, are you still advocating underage marriage?" Naoki asked wearily, holding a hand to his temple.

Kotoko popped out of her seat. "Obasama, you don't look well. Let me take you to the ladies' room."

"Yes. Ladies' room," Mrs. Irie repeated. "Lady. La-dy. I'm going to make you a la-dy and you will marry my Naoki and have bee- _you_ -tiful babies. All girls!" She waved one arm wildly; luckily, Kotoko had already removed the glass from her hand.

Naoki helped Kotoko get his mother upright and balanced her on Kotoko's shoulder. "Can you make it all right?" he whispered.

She nodded up at him and boasted, "I still have muscles from all your tennis training. One step at a time, Obasama!"

"I used to play tennis, you know," Mrs. Irie confided to Kotoko. "It's such a romantic game. All that love in the scoring…"

As her voice faded down the hall, Naoki resumed his seat. "Dad, I think it's time we left."

Yuuki rolled his eyes. "Long past time!"

"Yes, well, my wife doesn't hold her liquor too well," Mr. Irie apologized to his friend.

"No need to worry." Mr. Aihara waved aside his concern. "Where else can you relax except with friends?" He turned as an employee tugged on his sleeve.

"Ai-san, it's about time for that person to show up…"

"Oh, expecting someone?" Mr. Irie began to rise but was pressed back into the seat.

"It's just that we've been invaded by this strange guy lately. You know, the one from Kotoko's class who ate all her tofu that time?" Mr. Irie winced, Naoki raised an eyebrow, and Yuuki snorted at the news. "He comes barging in every night, and‒" The bell above the entrance rang. "See? Here he is."

Kinnosuke's mouth dropped at the sight of the three Irie males staring at him. "Huh?!"

"Just what this night needed," Naoki commented drily. "I assume that this is your highly secretive 'love plan'?"

"What are you talking about, Naoki-kun?" asked Mr. Aihara. "This kid here has been bugging me to take him on as an apprentice. Not that I advertised for anyone…"

"Yeah! That's right, Irie!" Kinnosuke answered loudly. "I'm gonna become a chef of Japanese cuisine, work here at Otosan's restaurant‒"

"Don't call me Otosan!" This was obviously not the first time that Mr. Aihara had instructed him in this matter.

"‒marry Kotoko, take over this restaurant, and allow Otosan to retire in comfort. Two birds with one stone! Great idea, right?"

"Don't call me‒" Mr. Aihara placed a hand on his brow and shook his head, recognizing that it was impossible with Kinnosuke on a roll.

"Highly clever," Naoki answered, "but‒"

"See! You don't have to be in Class A to have smarts!"

"‒what does Kotoko think of this idea?"

"What idea?" Mrs. Irie, guided by Kotoko, had made her way back to the table. Holding a damp cloth to her forehead, she glared at Kinnosuke. "I remember you, you daughter-in-law-to-be poacher!"

"Yikes!" He reared back from her fearsome expression.

"Yeah, Mom," Yuuki piped up in mischief. "Shit-for-Brains here is at his old tricks. He's sucking up to Aihara-san trying to take Kotoko away from you."

"Yuuki! Language!" she scolded before returning her attention to the aspiring chef. Stepping forward, she began to lecture him. "I am not going to let you have my Kotoko-chan. Not after," she paused and made a futile attempt to count on her fingers, "all those months I've been training her! She is going to be," she wobbled a bit, "my daughter-in‒Bleurrgh!"

"Yep. Time to leave." Naoki stood and guided his mother towards the door as Kotoko tried to wipe her face on the go. He turned to Kinnosuke, who stood frozen after receiving most of the blast. "Well, part of being a chef includes cleaning up messes. Have at it!"

* * *

Kotoko and Naoki met in the hallway the next morning. "Didn't you sleep well, Naoki-kun?" she asked, looking at the dark circles under his eyes.

"You're lucky that your room is farther from the toilet than mine." When she cocked her head at him, he explained, "Mother was puking the rest of her guts out until the early morning hours." He yawned. "I knew she shouldn't have had that last drink."

"Maybe she wouldn't have if we had told her that we're…you know…"

"Don't even think that." He glanced up and down the hall and kissed her forehead quickly. "If she got the tiniest inkling that we were actually beginning to like each other in that way, we'd have even more pressure and interference."

"I guess. But missing sleep the night before the test isn't good."

"Better me than you, no offense intended. Anyway," he patted her head as they went down the stairs, "a couple cups of coffee will put me right!"

* * *

Mrs. Irie sat at the table, holding her head in her hands, a fizzy drink in front of her. She winced when Kotoko greeted her with, "Good morning, Obasama!"

"Good morning, darling!" She managed a wavering smile. "You too, Onii-chan. I fixed you both a healthy breakfast, with lots of nutrition so you'll do well today."

"Thanks, Ma!" he hugged her shoulders, "especially because I know you're not feeling on top of the world. What I really need is coffee!" He followed his nose to the pot on the sideboard. "Excellent!"

* * *

The ibuprofen had finally kicked in by the time the two were ready to leave. She handed Kotoko her bag. "Here you go!" She touched a bright packet tied to the handle. "I made you a charm for luck!" She pouted slightly. "Even though you wouldn't make one for Onii-chan!"

"Obasama," Kotoko sighed, "you know that I bleed all over everything when I try to sew."

She patted her face. "That's all right, dear, but we could have used red fabric. Well, no matter! I know he doesn't need extra luck today. He has his annoyingly perfect brain, after all."

They were barely outside the gate when Kotoko came to a sudden stop. "Luck!" She placed a hand in her jacket pocket and sagged in relief. "It's safe! Naoki-kun, how about yours?"

He patted his chest. "Right here. Although I don't know how far we should trust that flaky girl…"

* * *

Mrs. Irie walked slowly back to the kitchen and began putting things away. _I must have been on autopilot this morning,_ she thought. _I don't even remember making coffee…_ She stared at the canister in her hand. "Oh, no! I used Papa's decaf beans! Well," she replaced it in the pantry, "I'm sure Onii-chan won't notice the difference."


	26. Chapter 26

"Brr! Good thing you suggested that we leave early!" Watanabe greeted them at the station. "With the snow slowing down the trains, we won't have much time to spare."

"We should still make it there ahead of schedule." Naoki guided Kotoko into a vacant space and the three stood in the crowd. "Let me put your bag over my shoulder so you'll have more room," he told her.

"Interesting talisman there," Watanabe commented as it was passed over. "Homemade?"

"Yes," Kotoko answered him. "Obasama gave it to me this morning."

"She probably put a lot more than good luck wishes in it. You'd be better off tossing it once we get to the test center."

"I couldn't do that to her, Naoki-kun," she protested. "Besides, you know she'll look for it when we get home."

"Are you still not letting your mother know that you two are dating?"

"It's not that easy to‒oof!‒'date' when you live in the same house," Naoki attempted to explain as an influx of passengers moved the students into closer proximity than was normal for them. "It's hard enough to deal with her on a regular basis, but to have daily inquiries into a relationship‒. Plus, I have a feeling that she would bug our rooms if she thought that would give her more information."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Kotoko offered from the vicinity of his armpit. He shuffled a bit to give her more space.

Watanabe looked at the overhead display. "The next stop is ours. We'd better get ready to shove our way out."

"Right." Naoki leaned forward to shrug off Kotoko's bag and got a funny look on his face.

"What's up?" Watanabe asked.

"Kotoko's bag. It's stuck in the door."

"Really?" She ducked behind him to examine it. "It's Obasama's charm. It's caught pretty firmly but should pop free once the doors open."

"But our stop uses the opposite door!" Watanabe's voice held a slight touch of panic.

"I'll tear it out!" Naoki gritted his teeth and pulled to no avail.

"How many more stops until this door opens?" asked Kotoko.

"I'm not sure."

"Well, I'll stay on until it does, then make my way back," she declared.

"No," Naoki contradicted her. "I'll stay. Watanabe, see her there safely." His friend nodded and he placed a hand over Kotoko's protesting mouth. "Look, I can run faster, and even if I get there at the absolutely last minute, tests don't frighten me. You need to show up in plenty of time to relax and be in your very best form." The train screeched to a halt. "Now, go!" He gave her a quick hug and shoved her towards Watanabe.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Watanabe and Kotoko met him in the lobby of the testing center, and the three mounted the stairs to the registration table. "How far did you have to go?" Kotoko asked anxiously.

Naoki was still breathing heavily. "Two stations down. Too bad Ikezawa wasn't there to time my speed."

"What happened to the good luck charm?" asked Watanabe.

Naoki handed the bag to Kotoko. "It's still right there. You should take it off until the test is over. Mother definitely sewed the wrong kind of luck into it."

"You may be right." Kotoko reached out her hand, but she barely touched the homemade talisman before it fell off and floated to land several steps behind them. "That's strange." She turned to reach for it and was bumped by a rushing man wearing a test proctor badge.

"Hey!" Her overbalanced position meant that she was unable to fight gravity.

Before her wobble turned into a free fall, Naoki leaped and grabbed her from behind, losing _his_ balance in the process. Somehow he managed to turn partially in midair before landing on the stairs, bouncing down the last few to the lower level. Naoki's back took most of the abuse, as his arms were wrapped around Kotoko, trying to prevent her from injury.

Watanabe shook himself free of his startled immobility and hurried down to them. "Irie! Aihara-san! Are you hurt?"

Kotoko blinked up at him. "I don't think so. Where's Naoki?" When she discovered that his tight grip on her chest prevented her from sitting up, she twisted her neck. "Naoki-kun? You can let go now."

"Oh." He breathed raggedly. "Ouch. But are you all right?" he asked with anxious eyes.

Kotoko nodded and stood and watched him slowly move. He winced and gasped sharply when he placed his weight on his right foot and began to collapse again. Kotoko grabbed him with her left hand and cried out also. If Watanabe had not been there, they would both have ended up back on the floor.

It wasn't long before several adults joined them to assess the damage. "You need to be seen by medical personnel," they were advised.

"You don't understand," Watanabe replied. "They are here for the national test."

"Yes, yes, but their health is of greater importance. Besides, the liability for the fall…"

"Oh, for the love of‒!" snapped Naoki. "Kotoko!" She turned to him. "Which arm?"

She smiled wanly. "My left one again. I can still write."

He pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around her hand and wrist. "Okay. You and Watanabe go ahead. I'll join you when I can."

"But you'll be late!"

"Don't worry," he assured her grimly, "they'll let me in for fear of legal action. And I'm better able to make a good showing in a shortened amount of time than you are."

Her eyes were still distressed as Watanabe pulled her away. "I hate to agree with him when it sounds as if he's insulting you, but it _is_ the truth."

"I know." She gave him a trembling smile. "Don't take too long, Naoki-kun!" she called as she was ushered back upstairs and he was guided down a back hall.

"You heard the lady," he said with clenched teeth. "Let's make this fast!"

* * *

Despite his wish for speed, there were only twenty minutes left in the first exam when Naoki hobbled into the room, a bandage on his face and a crutch under his right arm. The test administrator handed him a test booklet and directed him to the empty desk with his pencil box on top. He bit back a curse when he realized that the price for the bag partially cushioning his fall was that all of his lead had been shattered. He was about to raise his hand when he noticed a colorful pencil and the torn half of an eraser propped on the desktop behind the case. He smiled as he recognized one of Kotoko's anime characters. _Pink hair!_ He laughed softly and then began to answer the questions almost before he finished reading them.

During the break between sessions, Kotoko made her way to his desk. "How are you?" she asked anxiously.

"They wrapped my ankle but suggested that I get it checked out by the hospital. How's your wrist?"

She waved it at him. "Not too bad. Some girls never go out without painkillers."

"How...feminine of you, Kotoko. Mother would be so proud."

"Oh, it wasn't me that brought them." His chuckle broke off in a hiss when pain shot up his leg as he shifted his foot slightly. "Do you want some? The girl is over there." She turned and bumped into Watanabe who had also drawn near.

"No," he refused. "The pain is helping me focus. But this pencil," he held it up, "I thought you didn't like pink."

"He's a dragon slayer," she stated, as if that was a valid explanation.

Naoki looked at Watanabe. "That mean anything to you?"

His friend shook his head. "I hope you don't mind us going through your bag, Irie. We thought we would set you up to begin as soon as you got here and discovered that your pencils were useless. I provided the eraser," he added with a grin.

"Well, with help from my friends, caffeine and a...dragon slayer," he waved the pencil, "I should be all set for the next session."

* * *

 _Why am I seeing double?_ Naoki blinked. _No, make that triple._ He shook his head and gritted his teeth. _I had two cups of coffee this morning. I should should be extra alert with the pain. What the heck is going on?_ He pinched the inside of his elbow, gritted his teeth and forged on.

* * *

As he and Watanabe and Kotoko made their slow way of the building, he complained, "Nothing has gone right since Mother tied on that charm this morning."

"Maybe it was influenced because she didn't feel well last night," Kotoko proposed.

"Thank goodness it got lost in the melee on the stairs."

"Um, Irie?" Naoki felt his friend's hand on his back. He handed the battered charm to him with an apologetic expression. "Somehow it was stuck to the fabric of your coat."

Kotoko snatched it out of his hand. "At least Obasama won't get her feelings hurt since we didn't lose it!"

* * *

"Oh, my! What happened to you two!?" Mrs. Irie's screech brought Yuuki running to the door to witness the sight of Naoki, crutch under his right arm, braced by Kotoko, who sported a sling made out of Naoki's muffler cradling her left forearm.

The two were assisted to the couch, where they leaned back in exhaustion. Mrs. Irie instructed Yuuki to fetch them something to drink while she called the doctor. As she dialed, she scolded Kotoko, "I told you that you should have made Onii-chan a good luck charm!"

"Charm." Kotoko and Naoki looked at each other. "Maybe it wasn't Mother's fault after all."

Kotoko was the first to pull out her special packet. "Look, Naoki! The ribbon broke!"

"So did mine." He stared at the object in his hand. "She said we could look after its work was done."

They upended the bags and examined the contents. "I have a success, a yaku-yoke, a safety, a luck boosting and three test taking omamori. That makes seven‒lucky number!" Kotoko said.

"I have seven also. There's only one test taking‒"

"She knew you didn't need that much help!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I also have one luck boosting and five safety amulets."

"Well," Kotoko said after a moment, "you could have been hurt much worse in that fall."

"Yeah." He reached over and touched one of hers. "This yaku-yoke could have been warding away the bad luck of Mom's charm. Remember, it was given to you."

"Mmmm." Kotoko picked up Naoki's bag. "There's something else in yours." She pulled out a small sheet of paper. "It's a note!"

He took it from her. "'It was foreseen that you would put yourself in harm's way for the other's sake. Since you are reading this, the safety talismans worked. _Ki wo tsukete_. T.N.'" He looked at Kotoko. "That is one spooky girl."

"But she said that she knew…" Kotoko's eyes were wide.

He put his arm around her. "Sometimes it's safer not to ask questions."


	27. Chapter 27

Luckily neither of the injured students suffered from any broken bones, so the recuperation period was brief. With little left to do in the final semester before graduation, not a lot of studying was required, although the cram sessions continued in Kotoko's bedroom. Yuuki either didn't notice or didn't care if sometimes two of his favorite people just sat and looked at each other, holding hands. However, he was disappointed that, even with Kotoko's injury, he still was unable to defeat her in video games.

The day the exam results were released online, they played _janken_ to see who would go first. Kotoko crossed her fingers as Naoki put in his code. When he sat back, inhaling deeply, she feared the worst had resulted from the series of disasters that had taken place that fateful day. He grinned widely and said. "Well, I may truly be a genius. I was only four points off a perfect score."

His father beamed and his mother grabbed him and started dancing around the room. "Oh!" she came to a dead halt, making Mr. Irie stagger, "Kotoko's scores!"

"Already on it," Naoki muttered.

"Look for me!" Kotoko held her hands over her eyes.

"Coward!" he scoffed.

When he didn't speak again, she peeked between her fingers. "Naoki-kun?"

"Wow," he said in disbelief. "You made 80 points over my projection."

Mrs. Irie hugged her from behind, almost strangling her in the process. "Good job, Kotoko-chan! It's all due to my homemade charm!"

* * *

"So Irie-kun thinks you're a shoo-in for your college with those scores?" Satomi asked while buffing her nails. There was not even a pretense of learning going on in Class F.

"That's what he says. I sent off my essay and asked the teachers for recommendations. Now all I have to do is get through my interview."

"Shoot, Kotoko!" Jinko pounded her on the back. "At least talking is something we know you've always been good at."

"When is your appointment?" Satomi asked.

"The thirteenth. The same day that Naoki-kun takes the Todai test."

"Wow! The day before Valentine's Day."

"Is that a bad luck day?" Kotoko looked worried.

"No, it's just if you're planning on giving _honmei_ chocolate this year, you'll have to do it ahead of time."

Kotoko grimaced. "Obasama already has it planned out. I'll be tied to the kitchen the night of the twelfth. I'm not sure what she has in mind. None of the desserts I've attempted so far have succeeded."

"Well, there's always a first time," Jinko tried to reassure her.

Outside the classroom, Kinnosuke listened with his head near the door. "Y'hear that? Kotoko's making _honmei_ chocolate!" He raised clenched fists in the air. "Yes! Finally she sees the light!"

"Uh, boss?" Gintaro's brow was creased. "She didn't say who‒"

Dozo clapped his hand over his friend's mouth and shook his head.

* * *

"What did you pick out, Obasama?" Kotoko asked. "Cookies? Cake? I sure hope you're planning to give me lots of help."

Mrs. Irie shook a finger at her. "If you don't make it yourself, then your feelings won't get through at all! I admit your skills gave me a bit of challenge, but I finally thought of something foolproof."

"But is it Kotoko-proof?" she asked, insistent.

"You need to think positively!" Mrs. Irie handed her several wrapped commercial candy bars.

She grinned widely. "Finally, something within my abilities!"

"Not like that!" Mrs. Irie took out a glass bowl. "You need to melt the bars in the microwave then pour the liquid into these plastic molds! Ah," she gazed at them, "they're so cute! I'm sure that Onii-chan will be touched by your efforts!"

 _Touched in the head is more like it_ , Kotoko thought, looking at the ornate hearts and fat cupids. "Okay, that sounds easy enough."

"Remember, Kotoko. Melt in microwave, pour in molds, refrigerate to harden. Easy-peasy!" She gave her one last hug and exited the kitchen.

"Okay." Kotoko took a deep breath and unwrapped the candy. "At least I know that much!" she muttered as she dropped them in the bowl, unbroken. She carried it to the microwave. "How long, Obas‒? Darn, that's right, she left. Okay, three minutes on high, then."

At the end of the cycle, she stared at the contents of the bowl. "Huh? It's not all melted?" Large chunks of fairly solid candy floated in a steamy puddle of chocolate. "I'll do it a little longer."

The consistency was still not smooth after the second go-round, and she had received a painful reminder to use a potholder when taking the bowl out of the microwave. "But it's almost there! Maybe I'd better taste it before going any further." Although she managed to eat a spoonful without burning her tongue too much, the chocolate's sweetness reminded her that Naoki was not fond of desserts. "Drat! You'd think his mother of all people would remember that. What can I do to make it suit his taste?"

She searched the pantry until she found some unsweetened baker's chocolate. "That's more like it! I'll mix it in and tone it down some." After a few more sessions with the microwave, she tasted it again. "Still very chocolate-y. Maybe a different flavor…" She decided on hot pepper sauce, as Naoki had recently enjoyed pepper jelly on his toast. "And Naoki-kun does enjoy breakfast…!"

The resultant flavor was not exactly what she had in mind, but she decided that she had adulterated it enough. Besides, the texture left something to be desired. There were unsightly lumps and what looked like chocolate-covered sugar crystals clinging to the sides of the bowl. Also, she discovered that she was not the neatest pourer. She ended up licking her finger several times after wiping the chocolate dribbles off the mold before placing it in the refrigerator. Arms deep in dish suds a half hour later, she hissed out a breath at a sudden stomach pain. _Maybe I tasted too much._

* * *

"I'm sorry that I can't accompany you on the trip," Naoki said to Kotoko the next morning as they walked to the train station. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes." She gave him a small smile. "I made sure to plug the directions in my phone."

He leaned over at her and peered closely. "You look a little pale."

"I'm pretty sure it's nerves, but I have to admit that I sampled some of your Valentine candy while making it last night. To be on the safe side, I'd advise you just to nibble a piece so Obasama can see it and throw the rest away."

He laughed. "Does that mean I don't have to make you some in return for White Day?"

"At least yours would be edible," she replied glumly.

* * *

Naoki waited with her near her gate until the train arrived. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked after seeing her wince.

"Yeah," she managed a smile. "My stomach's a little queasy now. Maybe a drink would calm it."

"I wouldn't, unless you want to run to the bathroom in the middle of the interview."

"Yikes. I guess I'll just try to ignore it."

As she waved farewell in the train window, Naoki wondered if it was the lighting or if she had gotten paler. _However_ , he glanced at the large clock, _the point was moot now_. He had his own train to catch.

Two stops from his destination he found himself back on the platform. _Why am I here?_ he had asked himself, crammed in with all the other commuters. _I don't want to go to Todai._ He looked at the schedule and hurried to the other track.

* * *

Kotoko prayed that the lady conducting the interview would believe that the perspiration on her forehead was from nerves and not from trying to keep from moaning with pain.

"...the glowing recommendations of all your teachers... extraordinary academic improvement... impressive score on the placement exam… merely a formality..." Kotoko focused when she heard desired words, "I am pleased to welcome you as a student to Sugureta Sekai University."

"R-really?" Kotoko did her best to look excited and appreciative.

Soon her hands were full as Mrs. Kurosawa began handing what seemed like reams of paper across the desk. "Here is information on housing, the registration schedule, public transportation." Noticing the girl's pale face, she paused for a moment. "I know this may seem overwhelming right now," she said gently, misinterpreting Kotoko's expression, "but despite its size, our university is like an extended family. We refer to it by the nickname 'Su-Se', which is a form of the verb which means 'make into.' During these four years of college you will make yourself into the adult you want to be." She leaned over and clasped Kotoko's hand. "All of us here are invested in this ideal, so do not bury yourself in academic isolation, which is what I believe you may have done to account for your remarkable grade changes this past year. Am I right?" She raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Not entirely. I-uh, learned to play tennis last summer." _Well, sort of,_ she added to herself.

"Wonderful! Among our varied assortment of clubs, we have a popular and active tennis circle."

 _I'm sure you do,_ Kotoko thought through a haze of pain, _but I won't be joining it._

Finally she found herself bowing and leaving the office. After leaning against a wall and breathing through an agony-filled wave, she began moving slowly across the campus toward the gates. _It's less than half a kilometer to the station,_ she told herself. _I can make it that far._ She closed her eyes when hit with another pang and when she opened them started in surprise. _Why does it look like two Naoki-kun's are headed my way?_ Immediately after that her vision turned gray and she felt the relief of unconsciousness.

* * *

She awakened in the hospital "What?" she murmured groggily.

"It wasn't your cooking." She turned to see Naoki sitting next to the bed. "You had appendicitis."

She managed a grin. "I still wouldn't advise eating the candy." She winced as she shifted slightly. "It must have been a bad attack for me to be out for 24 hours."

"What do you mean? You've only been unconscious for two. Anyway, it's not bad. You responded quickly to the medication," he indicated the IV pole on the other side of the bed, "and they'll be releasing you later this evening. Mom should be here soon to help us get home."

"Today?" She rubbed her forehead worriedly. " _Todai_?!"

"Ah!" He gave a short laugh. "I skipped the test."

"What?!" She tried to sit up, but the IV prevented the movement.

He shrugged. "I realized that I didn't want to go there. I'd rather go to college with you."

"Are you sure?" She frowned. "But your father…"

"It's my future, not my father's." He leaned back as far as he could in the uncomfortable chair. "He'll understand."

"But, the deadline may have already passed…" She twisted the sheet worriedly.

"Kotoko." He placed a hand over hers to still them. "You forget who I am. I've already called and I'm in like Flynn."

She pouted. "I'm jealous. You didn't have to worry or stress about it."

"Well, seeing you collapse right in front of me caused enough worry and stress for a lifetime. By attending the same college, I'll at least be able to keep an eye on you and get you out of trouble."

"Onii-chan!" Mrs. Irie, who had been standing in the doorway unobserved for several minutes, now swept in. "You're going to school with Kotoko-chan?! Oh yes, dear," she patted Kotoko's face, "how are you feeling? But university lovers! My, walking to classes together, in the full bloom of your youth… Oh! I need to look for an apartment for you two!"

"Ma!" Naoki protested.

"Kotoko-chan can't be all by herself this far away. Look at what happened to her after just one day! And didn't you say you wanted to keep an eye on her? How better than to live together?"

"All right, all right!" His eyes were hidden behind his hands. "But two bedrooms! _Two!"_

Mrs. Irie's bottom lip protruded. "At this rate you might as well have kept wearing dresses!" He gave her a disgusted look. "I'm going to call a real estate agent immediately to find a place for you to live. Maybe not an apartment, but a house. I know: A honeymoon cottage!"

"Ma!"

* * *

The three returned to Tokyo the next day. Mr Aihara prostrated himself before Mr. Irie in deep apology. "I'm not sure why Naoki-kun ended up in Kobe with Kotoko, but I'll take responsibility for him not making it into Todai!"

"Nonsense! Rise, Ai-chan!" Mr. Irie had already heard the full story from his son. "If Naoki had really wanted to take the test, he would have. And seriously, Kotoko's illness had nothing to do with it. As it is, we were lucky that he was there for her. Besides," he smiled, "Sugureta Sekai is a good university with an excellent business administration department. And if that doesn't work out, he'll be in the same city as Kobe University, the center of Japanese business studies!" He winked at Naoki. "You're not the only one who can research colleges!"

"Plus, I found a darling little house for the two of them!"

"Already, dear?" Her husband looked at her in surprise.

"Yes! It has THREE bedrooms. One for Kotoko-chan, one for Onii-chan," she made a displeased expression in his direction, "and one for a study‒ _or a nursery!"_

"Ma!" Naoki's face was about as red as Kotoko's, although his flush was from ire instead of embarrassment.

Mr. Irie and Mr. Aihara exchanged a look with each other that clearly said, _She's still on that kick?_

* * *

Meanwhile, Kinnosuke languished about the halls of Tonan High School that day, certain that at any minute Kotoko was going to jump out and shower him with her love and Valentine's chocolate, refusing to leave until the night guard threatened to call the police on him.

* * *

 **A/N: The college is based loosely on Kobe's Konan University. I took some liberties with its details, so I didn't want to name it as such in the story.**


	28. Chapter 28

Kotoko's teachers were extremely pleased that she had been accepted into her preferred university. They made a point of congratulating her, and several of them kept her listening to drawn-out reminiscences of past trips to Kobe and enough contradictory advice to confuse a guided missile. The Class A teachers were not so pleased at Naoki's decision, and he too was the recipient of long-winded (and, in the end, unfruitful) arguments to reconsider.

Kotoko had been dreading the response that Kinnosuke would provide. It proved to have a twist from left field. "Kotoko! You're finally leaving that damned Irie house! It's too bad you're going so far away, but I've got some great news to cheer you up. Did you know that Kobe is only a half hour from my old stomping grounds? Expect to see me whenever your dad gives me time off!"

"Uh, Kin-chan," Satomi ventured, "you _do_ know that Irie-kun is going to the same college as Kotoko?"

"Huh? Ha! That's a good one! His dad won't let the genius of Japan and heir of Pandai go anywhere but Todai, no matter what he's saying now."

"But Irie-kun didn't take Todai's test!" Jinko insisted.

Kinnosuke waved that argument away. "I know I've made fun of him being a super Class A nerd, but this time I'm glad that's what he is. No school's gonna turn him away!"

"Give it up, Jinko," Satomi advised. "No need to waste any more breath trying to change his closed mind."

* * *

As the school year wound to an end, Mrs. Irie's excitement grew. Kotoko tried to curb her enthusiasm over furnishing the rental house, primarily because she didn't want another pink bedroom.

"Tell her that pink is too juvenile a color for a college student," suggested Naoki.

"I did," she replied glumly. "Now she's talking flamingo and watermelon. But do you know what? They're still pink!"

* * *

Finally the big day arrived. Kotoko and Kinnosuke had been chosen to be the representatives who would present the diplomas to Class F: Kotoko for her unprecedented academic achievement, and Kinnosuke as a consolation prize for being the one student in the school who was accepted to no college whatsoever.

Blissfully unaware of the reasoning behind his selection, Kinnosuke had woven an elaborate daydream about his and Kotoko's future. "Y'see, guys," he concluded his narration to Dozo and Gintaro for the seventh time, "it's a done deal when the teachers, who've been with us these past three years, think that we belong together!"

From that erroneous assumption, his imagination took a hop, skip and a flying leap and substituted "wedding" for "graduation" as the ceremony on tap for the day. The sun slanting through the high gymnasium windows shone down upon him like a benediction from heaven and even allowed him to smile blissfully through Naoki's valedictory speech. As he and Kotoko approached the steps of the stage, he felt the eyes of the audience (congregation!) upon him and projected himself completely into the bridal fantasy.

"C'mon, Kotoko, we've gotta link arms," Kinnosuke urged as they made their way down the aisle.

She gave him a sideways glance. "They didn't mention that in rehearsal. I think I'll walk normally."

Undeterred, he continued. "Ahhh...this is a great feeling, isn't it? Everyone is gazing so warmly at us."

"Crap," she muttered, "I bet Obasama is recording this!"

"Yes," he sighed, "a videotaped souvenir of the ceremony. And one of the onlookers is that jerk Irie." Even in his presumed moment of triumph, he was unable to be a good sport. He turned and hissed, "Loser!" at Naoki, who just shrugged.

When the headmaster identified them to the assembly and spoke their names, he responded to what he thought were the wedding vows. "I do!" he shouted.

"Do what?" asked a peeved Kotoko, now in possession of all the diplomas, since the daydreamer had ignored the ones he was supposed to receive. " _Concentrate_. You're not the only one up here, you know."

"Oh, you don't want traditional vows? Well, you _are_ an independent spirit. Here goes!" He turned, grabbing the microphone from the startled headmaster. "Today I declare my intention of taking Aihara Kotoko as my bride. I will not go to college like some freaky nerd‒yeah, I'm lookin' at you, Irie!‒but will work my way up in society with my own will, strength and hands!"

Watanabe leaned over to Naoki. "Have you any idea what he's doing?"

"Besides embarrassing Kotoko? Having a nervous breakdown, maybe."

"You, my witnesses, have all heard my public avowal of love. Since Kotoko and I are perfect together, I bet there are no objections," he jeered in Class A's direction.

"I object!" came from the back. Naoki and Kotoko both closed their eyes, recognizing Mrs. Irie's strident voice. "Kotoko will never belong to you! Tell her, Onii-chan!" Mr. Irie frantically tried to get her to sit down while Mr. Aihara, channeling his inner paparazzi, focused the camera on her for an extreme closeup.

"I feel for you, man," Watanabe whispered.

"Kin-chan, give the microphone back so our classmates can get their diplomas." Kotoko tried to reason with the deluded boy.

"We have something more important to do. We need to seal the deal with a kiss. How about it, bride?" He leaned over, eyes closed and lips puckered.

"Are you going to stop him?" Watanabe asked at the exact moment Naoki's mother shouted the same question.

"No need," he replied calmly. "I believe he just overloaded her annoyance meter."

Kotoko swung the stack of heavy cardboard upwards and cracked it into Kinnosuke's chin. His eyes crossed from the blow before he let out a high-pitched yelp when she stomped on his foot with her new shoes ("Only four centimeter heels, Kotoko-chan, surely you can manage _that_!"). For the _coup de grace_ , she kicked him in the back of one knee, and he rolled down the stairs to land at Naoki's feet.

He leaned down and, once he was sure Kinnosuke's eyes had refocused, spoke softly, "I believe the 'bride' said 'I _**don't** '_." Since the ersatz bridegroom still held the microphone in his loose grasp, the entire auditorium was privy to the comment.

Kotoko, who had retained her grip on the diplomas, held them above her head with both hands, like Rocky displaying his championship belt, to the cheers and laughter of more than just her Class F classmates.

* * *

"That was quite a show you put on, Kotoko-chan," Mrs. Irie commented as she smoothed the girl's hair after the ceremony.

"It wasn't too ladylike, was it?" She bowed her head in apology.

"Never mind!" She hugged her. "Considering the situation, I think your tomboy persona had the correct response! Perhaps it's just as well that most of my lessons didn't 'take'. So," she turned to Kotoko's friends, "are you two excited to have put high school behind you?"

"Sure," said Jinko. "It's been a‒holy moley, wouldja look at them!" A couple of recent graduates were kissing at the corner of the building.

"Over there too!" Mrs. Irie pointed toward some bushes. "I must find Onii-chan! I need a picture of the two of you. Surely he can't refuse me today!" She departed in a rush.

Kotoko turned to her friends. "Satomi, are you and Watanabe going to take pictures together?"

"No," she replied, "we've called it off."

"What?!" Her friends were astounded.

"Well, he needs to concentrate on his studies. Waseda University is quite demanding, from what I hear."

"But still‒! It's not that far away!"

"You could have made it work!"

"We weren't that serious," she tried to reassure them. "Besides, I could tell that I didn't hold all of his heart, and that's a deal-breaker for me!" She tossed her head.

The girls nodded at each other. Satomi _could_ be high maintenance at times.

"Although," she laid a finger at the corner of her mouth, "I have determined what my type is."

"Type?"

"There's just something about a man in glasses…" she sighed.

"Kotoko-chan! Kotoko-chan! I found him!" Mrs. Irie was headed that way with her elder son in tow, an irritated albeit resigned expression on his face.

"Now!" she ordered him sternly, "I want a picture of you and Kotoko-chan. No arguments! After that imbecilic performance inside, we need to set the record straight."

"Set the record straight?" Turning, he grinned at Kotoko and grabbed her diploma holder and tossed it, along with his, to the girls. "Why not?" He took hold of Kotoko's shoulders and began to lower his head, only to be stopped a few centimeters from her face by a hand firmly planted on his breastbone.

"Hold it!" Kotoko glared at him, although a twinkle could be seen in her eye, "what about not wanting to provide your mother with‒what was it?‒'enjoyment and triumph'? Have you changed your mind?"

"Not at all!" He winked at her. "But just imagine her frustration at the fact that we're moving over 400 kilometers away where she can't pop in and spy on us at any time."

"Why do I like that little spiteful streak in you?" she asked rhetorically. "Well, since that's the case," she tugged him closer by his school tie, "let's go for it!" And thus began the most dramatic and romantic kiss ever seen on the Tonan campus.

Naoki's mother stood frozen. "Dammit, the camera!" Satomi pried it from her hands and proceeded to record the moment for the Irie photography archives in her place. Not that it was necessary, considering the number of cell phones being held up by the rapidly expanding audience.

Shaking herself out of her trance, Mrs. Irie fell to her knees, raised her arms to the sky and cried, "Yes! I _will_ have my grandbabies!"

Somewhere in the distance was heard a plaintive, "No-o-o!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading my alternate timeline with a feisty, non-feminine and frequently potty-mouthed Kotoko. I may have a college sequel if I can think up a halfway decent plot to string together the scenes that have already come to me. Right now I'm going to try to complete the Kotoko Volant series with the pregnancy story. (My husband almost had a heart attack when he saw the book I purchased for that segment's research!)**


End file.
